Blank Slate
by Lucy Labrador
Summary: Shadow's memories are fake, so he had no life before he was released from Prison Island. After helping Sonic defeat the Metal Overlord, Shadow finds that he's clueless about looking after himself outside of battle.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Set after Sonic Heroes**

After the final battle with the Metal Overlord, Metal Sonic's most powerful form, Shadow asked Rouge about his past. She told Shadow everything that she knew. It didn't take long for the memories to flood back to Shadow. But not all of them. That's when Rouge told him to go to the ARK.

And that's where he went.

OoOoO

Shadow stood in the room that overlooked the earth. He took a few moments to look at the bright blue orb of life below and contemplate. His mind was racing after all of the information he had to process. Despite that, he was also at ease. Shadow gazed out of the window with a placid expression. Then he looked down at the picture in his hand. An old, crumpled photograph of Maria and Gerald.

Shadow held out his arm and let his hand hover in front of him. He loosened his grip on the photo and watched it flutter side to side before touching the floor and staying there. The hedgehog looked down at it, then closed his crimson eyes in acceptance.

"Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog."

He muttered those words with his soft-spoken voice. Then, he turned and walked out of the room.

The ARK was eerily quiet. There was a quiet hum from lighting and machinery. But nothing else. Shadow pulled his arms up to his chest and wrapped them around himself. He remembered a time when the ARK was full of scientists and the atmosphere was lively. Everyone seemed to love Shadow. Everyone and everything was perfect. But those memories made Shadow shiver, because he knew they weren't true.

They were all lies.

Shadow had looked at the database in the ARK. After reading through the information, two things added up in his mind. The date of the ARK raid came before the date of his birth.

What Rouge had said was all true. His memories were all lies.

He'd found the photo of Gerald and Maria. He stared at Maria's face, into her eyes. The girl felt so familiar. Shadow felt memories of their relationship flood back, and it hurt him. Then it hurt him even more to think that it shouldn't have hurt, because none of it was real. It was all fabricated by Gerald just to fuel Shadow's passion for destroying the Earth. The rage that Shadow felt wasn't his own. It was Gerald's.

His only real memories were the ones he had after his release from Prison Island.

Who was he before? Was he anyone?

Shadow realised that his only real life was filled with nothing but hatred and fighting, and then fighting against that hatred. Then whatever happened that long day with Rouge and Omega.

Shadow's head felt light and his body heavy. He clutched his stomach. The pain inside of his made his muscles tremble. This would happen every so often, but he'd accepted it already. Perhaps Gerald didn't expect Shadow to take this long to destroy the earth and only gave him a limited time. With every few hours, the pain grew worse. But nothing on the database had mentioned this.

When Shadow returned to Earth. As he looked up, he felt as if he was breathing in the sky. It was as blue as it was from above. Just what Maria wanted to see.

Maybe.

Shadow didn't know anymore. He turned his head to look around him. It was time to find Rouge. And he knew where to find her.

OoOoO

"You found my club," Rouge said slyly from behind the counter of the bar. Rouge and the shelves behind her were illuminated by bright overhead lights, yet the rest of the place had a dim, pink glow to it. It was an atmosphere Shadow had never experienced before.

"What do you do at this club?" Shadow said and looked around. There were tables with chairs around it, and a few machines at the side of the large room. They were lit up with many bright colours and had screens on them. The room was clean and empty of people.

"I serve my customers," Rouge said. "Whilst they drink and have a good time."

Shadow looked at Rouge with a blank expression and blinked.

"Drink?"

"Yes." Rouge rested her arm on the bar surface and leaned forward. "Come and sit down."

Shadow pointed his confused gaze to the stools attached to the ground in front of the bar. They were taller than the ones at the tables. When he walked over to one of the stools, the height of it reached his chin.

"Sorry, they mostly accommodate human sizes."

"... why?"

"Because that's who most of my customers are," Rouge said. "Come on. Surely this isn't too hard for the Ultimate Life Form."

Shadow closed his eyes and hummed a small growl in his throat. He didn't know what those words meant to him anymore.

He grabbed onto the seat and pulled himself onto it. Then he balanced himself to face Rouge.

"So, what are you drinking?"

"Where are the 'customers'?" Shadow asked.

"I'm not open yet. Now, what do you want to drink?"

Shadow looked at Rouge, mouth tight shut and thinking hard.

"Do you want a list of choices?" Rouge asked whilst smirking.

"Will they hurt?"

Rouge raised an eye ridge at Shadow.

"Depends how strong they are… I guess?" she said hesitantly.

Shadow closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Hit me."

Shadow heard the clinking of glass against glass and then the pouring of liquid. Then, something clanked right in front of him. He opened his eyes. There was some kind of cone shaped liquid holder in front of him. He tilted his head to look at it. It has a long, thin spine to hold up the cone of liquid, and then a large, flat bottom. Strange.

"It's a Martini."

Shadow nodded his head and stared at it.

"It's nice," he commented and continued looking at it.

"Drink it."

Shadow looked at Rouge in confusion again. Wasn't this thing called a 'drink' and now he was being told to 'drink' it.

Shadow picked up the glass delicately by its stalk and tipped it slightly to examine how it would react. Some of the liquid dripped over the sides. He looked at the small pool of moisture on the smooth surface. It didn't do anything.

Rouge folded her arms and huffed with impatience.

"Can I touch it?" Shadow asked.

"Of course you can! Shadow, what's wrong with you!?" Rouge snapped. Shadow set the drink down again.

"It's green," Shadow said. "I thought that it would… do something."

"Shadow, it's not some form of deadly acid! It's alcohol!" Rouge said. "Have you never had alcohol before?"

"No."

"What _have_ you had before?"

Shadow just stared at Rouge. He had no answer. He looked down, thinking. Had he ever come across a glass like this with similar liquid before?

No. Never.

"Nothing."

"I'll just give you a water," Rouge sighed and turned to the surfaces behind her.

Shadow flinched and watched her.

"I… don't want to get wet."

Wow, Shadow thought to himself. Bars were strange.

Rouge set down a clear glass cylinder filled with an also clear liquid. Then she stood with her hands on her hips and looked at Shadow with a judging expression.

"Aren't you thirsty?" she asked. Shadow stared at her, feeling nervous. Alarm bells went off in his head. He couldn't make sense of anything.

"I don't know what any of this means!" Shadow exclaimed and brought his hands up to his head as his palms shook violently. Rouge's eyes widened. Shadow stared at her with a pleading look is. "I don't know what a drink is and what a thirsty is! I'm sorry! I-I'll try to better to join in with your club!"

"Oh… Shadow…" Rouge said, her voice was hoarse with sadness. Her ears drooped. "You really are an android."

There was silence for a few moments.

"When you asked about your past… I had faith that you were the real one," Rouge explained. "But… maybe not."

"NO! I'm not an android! I feel pain! I am real-"

Shadow stopped. 'Real'. He didn't feel real. He felt real in the sense that was an organic creature… but not like a real person. His identity was fake. It was hard to say with absolute truth that he was 'the real thing', when there was no 'real thing'. Just who was Shadow meant to be.

"I'm not an android. I bleed. I feel," Shadow said firmly.

"You could be an advanced android," Rouge said.

"I-I do feel! My head hurts! My muscles won't stop shaking! I f-feel as though I'm going to pass out any second! And this pain in my stomach keeps getting worse! Was THAT programmed into me to trick me!?" Shadow exclaimed.

Then, a loud rumble sounded from Shadow's stomach. He clutched it, shivered and bent over.

"R-rouge… I-I don't think I have much time left. I'm sorry," he rasped. Rouge walked out from behind the counter and over to Shadow. She stopped in front of him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Shadow. Do you know what 'hungry' means?" she asked softly. Shadow shook his head feebly whilst looking down at his knees. "And you don't know what thirsty means. Is your mouth dry?"

"Yes! Look!" Shadow said and wiped the mouth on his muzzle.

"No. Inside."

Shadow bit his tongue. He hadn't thought about the inside of his mouth before.

Rouge reached for the glass of water. Shadow watched as she put the ridge of the glass against her mouth, opened her mouth very slightly, and tipped the glass so that the liquid went inside. His eyes widened with fascination. Then, Rouge took the glass away from her face and passed it to Shadow.

"You… just… hold in there?" Shadow asked, leaning forward to stare at Rouge closely.

"I swallowed it."

Shadow looked disgusted. He felt disgusted. And Rouge was expecting _him_ to do it?

"It will feel natural if you try," Rouge encouraged. So, Shadow did the same. He bought the ridge of the glass close to him and tipped the water into his mouth. Shadow felt nervous. He spat the water back into the glass.

"Shadow! Prove to my that you're not an android and swallow that water!" Rouge exclaimed.

Shadow tried again and gulped the water. It just sat there in his mouth. He was afraid. Maybe he was an android and he would explode. But he knew he wasn't. So he did it. His reflexes kicked in and his throat seemed to suck up the liquid. It vanished down the hole. Shadow opened his mouth and gasped. It was gone. Down. He looked down at his torso. He imagined a torso sized tank inside of him, now with a bit of space used up.

"Gerald didn't put the right memories into you," Rouge said. "What do you remember of your past?"

Shadow felt his heart twist. Then he wondered if the liquid has passed it. Maybe his heart was wet.

"Maria. She was nice." Shadow felt his eyes sting.

Those memories were fake.

"GAH! It's coming out again!" Shadow growled and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. His cheeks were wet because his eyes were leaking. "Wait…" he rasped. "This has happened before."

Rouge looked at Shadow with a sympathetic expression.

"It wasn't a lot though. It must have been all I had," Shadow explained weakly. "Will these keep happening? If I swallow the water?"

"No, Shadow. You're crying. And that has nothing to do with drinking water," Rouge said. Then she sniggered. She covered her mouth to try and hold back her laughs. Then she glanced at Shadow worriedly. "I'm sorry, Shadow."

Shadow shook his head frantically.

"What is it?"

"Y-you're like a little toddler. You've got so much to learn. And I just realised… I have to do it. I have to look after you, Shadow," she said, voice breaking through her laughs. "You're the Ultimate Life Form."

"I'm nothing!" Shadow yelled.

Rouge's laughs stopped, and her eyes filled with guilt as she looked up at Shadow.

"I'm great at what I can do! But what good is that if I literally can't do anything else!" he screamed. He grabbed the edge of the bar surface and pushed himself back. He stumbled to the floor, nearly falling onto his tail.

"It just shows what Gerald felt about me! I thought he loved me! But he didn't! I was just a some kind of living bomb set to detonate and do nothing else afterwards!" Shadow exclaimed. He grasped at the sides of his head and shut his eyes tight. "I-I'm not even that. The eclipse cannon was the bomb. I was just the deliverer." He fell to his knees. "I'm nothing."

Rouge stepped forward towards Shadow, then bent down onto her knees. She grabbed Shadow's hands and pulled them from the sides of his head. She felt them right and looked at his eyes, intensely. Shadow opened his eyes and looked into hers.

"Shadow… you're not nothing. You're free of the chains that Gerald put you in. You can be anything you want to be. And I will be here with you until you stop feeling like nothing, and feel like someone," Rouge pleaded. "You're the Ultimate Life Form. You're capable of so much."

"Even… drinks?" Shadow asked.

Rouge giggled quietly.

"Yes. And I'm sure you'll can handle food as well," Rouge said.

"Food?" Shadow tilted his head.

"The thing that will make your stomach stop hurting."

"Please teach me."

OoOoO

Shadow found chewing to be a chore at first, but he got the hang of food very quickly. Suddenly, he felt as if he was meant to do this all of this life. Like there were parts of him that was made for it, and he'd just fulfilled some of his destiny. Rouge had given him a quick lesson in the digestive system and other things. Shadow was quick to understand.

"And how often will I need to do all of this? Shadow asked.

"Several times a day. It depends how hungry you get," Rouge explained.

"Have you shown me all of the foods yet?" Shadow also asked. He looked down at the table they were sitting at. This time, they were in an apartment kitchen instead of at the bar. Rouge took the night off and made her staff take over the bar instead of her having to work. So instead, she could help Shadow. They sat upstairs, listening to the faint sound of bass leaking through the thick ceiling, which was Rouge's apartment floor.

On the table in front of them was a half eaten pizza, some fries, some salad, a fizzy drink, and a milkshake.

"No, Shadow. That's just the best I could get from the pizza place next door," Rouge said. "This is just the tip of the iceberg… in a huge ocean of food!"

Shadow nodded and tried to understand.

"Oh, Shadow, I'm going to make you try everything! All of the take-outs! All of the restuarants! And I'm going to cook for you! We can have something new everyday!" Rouge chirped excitedly and clasped her hands together.

Shadow looked down at the round, flat, chewy, greasy thing in the shallow square box in front of him.

"That 'pizza' was nice. Was this the only one?" Shadow asked.

"No. There plenty more. We can order one any time."

"Good because I liked it. I want to eat it again," he said.

"After we try other things."

"When will we finish trying all of the things?" Shadow asked.

"Not for a long time," Rouge said. Shadow looked at Rouge in discomfort.

"But… I want the pizza soon," he said, sounding disheartened, but accepting. Rouge sighed, but smiled.

"Fine. Here's a deal. Every time you try something new, I'll get you a pizza the next day as a reward," Rouge said. "Until you get sick and tired of it."

"Deal," Shadow said, then he smirked and folded his arms. "But I won't get sick of it."

oOoOo

THE END

 **Author's Note: I wanted to play with the idea of Shadow's memories being fake, and that he was just a blank slate created by Gerald to destroy the Earth. If he was only fed the relevant fake memories of Maria and the ARK raid, maybe other less significant memories would have been included. Therefore, Shadow would be clueless about how to look after himself outside of battle.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another One-Shot**

...

Shadow was in Rouge's apartment above Club Rouge. The TV was on in the corner of the room. Shadow stared at it in interest. There were humans on the screen, in some kind of dramatic scenario. Then two of the characters on the screen hugged.

Shadow narrowed his eyes to a glare.

"Why should I care?" he asked.

Rouge was sitting on the sofa in front of the TV, watching the screen closely. She put her arm on the back of the sofa and turned her head to look at Shadow. He was standing at the back of the room, leaning against the wall.

"What? About this?" Rouge asked.

"Why should I care about what these humans inside that box are doing?" Shadow folded his arms. "And why do you care so much?"

"It's TV, Shadow," Rouge said. "It's a TV show where stuff happens and… it's meant to entertain you."

"It seems pointless," Shadow said.

"And so is standing against the wall doing nothing," Rouge remarked, then turned back to face the TV.

"Humans caused me nothing but pain. Why should I care about their made up scenarios…" Shadow mumbled to himself and looked at the floor solemnly.

Rouge's ears twitched, large enough to hear anything. She grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. Then she got up and walked over to Shadow. The hedgehog looked up at her, eyes widening in surprise.

"Is it finished?" he asked.

"No," Rouge said. "It's not important." She put a hand on Shadow's shoulder and looked right at him. Shadow did the same for a moment, then looked away, shivering for a second.

"You're more important," Rouge said. Shadow closed his eyes and tensed up. Rouge noticed this and let go of Shadow's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I keep forgetting about that."

Shadow stepped away and turned his back.

"It's okay… I need to get used to physical contact."

Shadow looked to the floor and clenched his fists.

"I should have known that my memories were fake. If I was so accustomed to Maria's embrace… then surely I wouldn't have hated people touching me," Shadow said. Then, he folded his arms around his torso, hugging his chest. "I… wish it didn't make me feel so…" He shivered again.

"You just need to get used to it," Rouge said.

"I don't think I will," Shadow said. "I was made to fight. Of course I'd hate physical contact… the only touch I was meant to feel was from a fist or… a weapon."

Rouge tilted her head in confusion.

"No… Shadow. You're not some kind of machine," Rouge pleaded. "Y-you're still a living creature."

"A-and living creatures are meant to like being touched?" Shadow asked shakily.

"Yes."

"Then I'm broken."

Rouge shook her head quickly and opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. Shadow still had his back turned. He walked away and through the door on the other side of the room. The bedroom. He shut the door behind him.

"You're not broken… you're just damaged," Rouge said quietly to herself. "And I want to fix you."

But Shadow didn't have large ears like Rouge. He didn't hear.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Shadow, can I come in?" Rouge knocked on the bedroom door and asked. It had been a few hours, and Shadow hadn't shown his face or made a sound.

There was no answer.

Rouge sighed. She needed to get in, it was her own bedroom after all. She knocked again, then opened the door. She winced when she expected Shadow to yell or charge at her to shove her outside again. But nothing happened. She scanned over the room. Shadow was nowhere to be seen.

She gasped and looked to the window. It wasn't open with curtains flying, signalling an escape. Where could he be? She ran into the room and looked around frantically. Then, she ran to the far side and looked behind the bed. Between the wall and the bed, curled up on the floor, was Shadow.

Rouge dropped to her knees and reached out to shake up, but stopped when she heard him breathing deeply and slowly.

Shadow was sleeping.

Rouge sighed in relief. She wanted to pick him up and put him onto the bed. It was a double, so big enough for the two of them. But, she didn't want to disturb him. Shadow had hardly slept since he'd started living with her. He would always stay up after Rouge, and be wide awake whenever Rouge emerged from her bedroom in the morning. Always either sitting on the sofa, staring into space, or at the kitchen table… or leaning against the wall… or just, anywhere, wide awake.

Rouge trusted that Shadow would stay fast asleep, so changed into her pyjamas. Then, she climbed into bed and laid there. She knew she couldn't sleep for a while, since she felt a little uncomfortable. Shadow had never been in the room when she was asleep. This was new.

Rouge didn't remember falling asleep. But one second she was dreaming, and the next, something awoke her. The bed shook and the mattress creaked. Then, something touched her side of the duvet. Something long and thin wrapped around her. Rouge gasped and tensed up, then her eyes snapped open and she looked to her side.

In the dim moonlight, she immediately recognised Shadow. Still breathing slowly and heavily. Still asleep… with his arm around her. His head snuggled into the pillow and nuzzled Rouge's neck. Rouge didn't move; she was mesmerised.

Shadow stayed fast asleep, and soon Rouge fell asleep too.

OOOOOOOOOOO

The sun broke through the cracks in the curtains. Rouge woke up. She felt disoriented but didn't know why. Then, she remembered. She violently turned to look to her side when she couldn't feel anything there. Shadow was gone. She rushed out of bed and into the main room. The TV was on. She swore she could remember turning it off. She went over to it… to find Shadow curled up on the sofa. She looked down at him; his eyes were open. He was watching the TV.

"Sh-shadow…" Rouge said hesitantly, afraid to say anything to him, unsure about his reaction after last night. "G-good morning."

Shadow smiled.

"Good morning to you too, Rouge," he said warmly with a soft smile.

Rouge smiled back.

...

 **Author's Note: I'm not continuing the story. I just got a small idea. This may happen again, but it'll just be small one-shots connected to the idea of a Shadow with fake memories.**


	3. Chapter 3

Shadow looked out of the window behind the TV. Outside, there was sun, fresh air… life. Looking out of the window reminded him of the times he did the same thing on the ARK, looking out of the large window, down at the earth.

Shadow closed his eyes and shook his head. No. Shadow knew those memories were fake.

But they felt so real.

Shadow didn't know whether or not to embrace them.

Shadow knew for sure that one of his memories was real. One from after his release from Prison Island. He was on the ARK, scheming to destroy the world with the Eclipse Cannon. Teaming up with Eggman and Rouge… but he when went to check on the emeralds, he found out that Rouge wasn't exactly on their side.

"Legend has it, that when all seven Chaos Emeralds are collected, the power creates a miracle. I have all seven of them, they're mine. All mine!"

Shadow heard Rouge say this as he walked up to the control panel for the Eclipse Cannon.

"I don't think so!"

"Shadow!" Rouge turned around, surprised to see him.

"That was your plan from the very beginning, huh? Or was it a direct order from the president? Now I know who you are? You're that government spy, Rouge the Bat, aren't you?" Shadow exclaimed and pointed a finger of accusation at her.

"So you did your homework, is that it? I would say that's an invasion of privacy."

"I can say the same thing about you."

"Hmm! It looks like things aren't quite going your way, but since my job was done… I thought it was time to take what's mine," Rouge boasted.

"You are one pathetic creature!" Shadow spat and turned his back to her in disgust.

"Hmm, look who's talking? What about you?" Rouge remarked, then she hovered down towards Shadow, wings flapping. "Here are the results of the research project called the Ultimate Life Form. But, if this pictures is of the real ultimate life form named, Shadow… then who or what is standing in front of me?"

Shadow glared at Rouge, narrowing his eyes in complete hatred. Surely that wasn't true. She was just making things up to throw him off of his mission. He had to keep going.

"This is Dr. Eggman! I have found all seven Chaos Emeralds!" a voice came through Shadow's communicator. Shadow lifted his arm and looked down at it. "Shadow! Someone is trying to get to the Eclipse cannon."

Shadow glared at back at Rouge, he had to keep an eye on her.

"There's not much time left before the cannon fires again. Can you get over there?" Eggman finished.

"If you want to live, leave the Chaos Emeralds where they are!" Shadow threatened Rouge.

"Do you actually believe that you are the real Shadow?" Rouge asked.

"No doubt!"

"Even your memories might not be real, you know."

"Even if my memories are not real, it's still me, Shadow. And I will fulfill my promise to Maria. That's the only thing that matters to me now."

OOOOO

Shadow held on that that one words… 'Might.' He memories MIGHT be fake. But they were fake. So he felt his will to keep true to his statement of 'It's still me, Shadow', slipping. Every time he remembered a fake memory; every time he remember a real one and it felt the same as the fake memories, he questioned himself, and his identity. Who was 'Shadow?' And could he enjoy the world that Maria wanted to, when he'd never even spoken to her. Had Maria even said anything about the Earth? Was that Gerald's memory? After all, Shadow was created to do Gerald's bidding…

As he looked out of the window, Shadow began to feel more and more clueless, and he felt small, pointless… like no body.

"Hey, Shadow… I know you're usually quiet for a long time but… you've been… really quiet for a long time now and… it's worrying me. Are you okay?" Rouge asked from the kitchen area. She was making a coffee at the counter.

Shadow turned around.

"I'm fine!" he said suddenly, and lifted his eye ridges to give off the illusion that he hadn't been furrowing it for the last hour or so.

Rouge looked shocked at Shadow's expression.

"Sh-shadow…" Rouge walked over to him. Shadow was confused at all of the fuss. "You're crying."

Shadow gasped inwards slightly and put his hand to his cheek. It was wet…

"Maybe I was, but I'm not anymore," Shadow said firmly, but was slightly surprised. He didn't know that he'd cried. Rouge brought her hand up to wipe the tears from Shadow's eyes. Shadow flinched for a second, then forced himself to stand still and accept it.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Shadow said. He couldn't make sense of what he was even thinking about… it was hard to know what he was upset about when there was so much going on in his mind.

"Shadow…" Rouge looked down and became impish. "You've been looking out of that window a lot lately."

"Yes."

"Do you want to go outside?"

Shadow stepped back and shook his head quickly.

"I can find a way to get you outside, if you want to," Rouge said. "I may have a hood or something."

"No, Rouge. I'm fine," Shadow said firmly again.

"You're not fine!" Rouge snapped.

Shadow stared at her with wide eyes, Rouge stared back. Then she took in a deep breath and spoke.

"I know you're not fine. I want to fix it, Shadow. I want to help you. But you're not letting me by pretending you're okay."

Shadow felt a twist in his chest. Then his cheeks were wet again. He knew this time, so immediately rubbed his eyes with his forearm.

"I want to feel fine! Maybe I will if I keep telling myself that!" Shadow snapped.

"Shadow… I think you need to go outside," Rouge said in a near-whisper. "You're going to feel this way until you do."

Shadow turned his head and looked out of the window. He looked through his longingly.

"Do it for Maria."

Shadow's stopped breathing. He stood stiff and straight and swallowed the lump in his throat. Then, he glanced at Rouge and nodded.

OOOOOOO

"Take this jacket," Rouge said, handing one to Shadow. Shadow looked at it, then narrowed his eyes at it.

"It's… not exactly my style," Shadow said. Rouge looked at it. "That thing, on the back."

"The embroidery?"

"Yes… if that's what you mean by those flower things," Shadow said. Rouge scoffed.

"Shadow… I thought that you of all people wouldn't care," she said. "Unless Gerald programmed gender preferences into you or something."

"Rouge. I will be fine. I can teleport," Shadow said. "Besides, I doubt anyone's looking for me."

"We don't know that for sure," Rouge urged and put her hand on Shadow's shoulder whilst looking into his eyes, pleading. Shadow grabbed the jacket.

"Your spikes should fit… since the hood fits my ears," Rouge said.

"Uh-huh," Shadow said slowly whilst putting it on.

"Do you want me to come?"

Shadow looked down.

"No. I… want to be alone," he said, then he grabbed the door handle and stepped out. As he walked down the steps into Club Rouge, he looked behind him to make sure Rouge wasn't watching.

Shadow took off the jacket whilst he walked over to one of the tables and pulled out a chair He folded the jacket up and set it down on the seat, then he pushed it back under the table. Rouge wouldn't see it unless she chose to look. Then, Shadow headed out of the back door.

Shadow looked up at the sky. The sun and the breeze; it felt different. He'd felt it before, whilst on his mission to destroy Earth, and during his journey with Rouge and Omega. But ever since he'd moved in with Rouge, he hadn't left. Rouge didn't always want him to. And Shadow couldn't tell why. It was safe for him to leave, right? Surely he'd be forgiven for his mistakes. Now, he was just a regular hedgehog and he could live his life. Life was normal now, so the breeze felt different. He didn't feel imprisoned by the planet's atmosphere… instead, he felt like he was at home.

Shadow looked down at his feet. It had been a long time since he last ran. Shadow looked both ways down the street, deciding. Then, shot off into the distance, keeping to the back streets until he reached the edge of the city.

He slowed to a walk once he reached the outskirts, there was nothing but green here. Not the restricting, daunting green of Prison Island's jungle. No. The inspiring, beautiful green of a forest. The kind Maria wanted to-

Shadow stopped walking. But he didn't realise he'd stopped. His brain felt cloudy. He didn't want to think anymore.

Shadow walked under a tree and sat down. He pulled his knees up to his chest and leant against the trunk. He looked up at the leaves, admiring how the sunlight poured between the leaves and branches. They let light through. Unlike the deafening darkness of that jungle-

Shadow grunted and put his hand on his head whilst he shut his eyes tight and winced in pain. He wanted to stop remembering everything. It hurt.

Why on Earth would Gerald programme such horrible memories into him? Why would he hurt his creation so much? Shadow no longer felt the love of his creator. He bent over, rested his forehead on his knees… and shivered in despair. He tried to stay strong. He didn't want his eyes to leak again.

He felt weak whenever that happened.

A strong gust of wind suddenly blew against him. Shadow lifted his head and and looked behind him. A blur of blue was fading into the distance. Shadow pushed himself to his feet, then ran after it.

There was no way he could catch up soon, though. The blur was already way ahead of him, and going at full pelt. Just what was it running from?

Shadow closed his eyes and thought.

"Chaos Control."

He appeared in front of the blur and braced for impact by closing his eyes tight and-

"Hey, Shadow."

A gust of wind circled around the two of them, then died down. Shadow opened his eyes. Sonic was standing right in front of him.

"How did you stop so…" Shadow looked at Sonic with wide eyes.

"There's no one behind us, right?" Sonic asked. Shadow looked over Sonic's shoulder. The city was in the distance. The area was empty.

"Nothing coming, why?"

Sonic held up his hands. There were cuffs around his wrists.

"Got a little too confident with GUN and they caught me," Sonic said, then chuckled nervously to himself. "But I got away before they could lock me in their van." His muzzled creased into a cocky smile.

"Hold still," Shadow said. Then, he held out his hand. A chaos spear emerged and fizzled. Sonic stretched his arms out in front of him. Then…

CRACK

The chains were shattered in two. The cuffs were still on his wrists, but Sonic stretched his arms out to the sides and grinned nonetheless.

"Thanks, Shadow," he chimed. Then he looked straight at Shadow. "Where've ya been, buddy?"

"We should hide," Shadow said. He looked to the side, there was the opening to a forest. "GUN will expect to see you here." He grabbed Sonic by the arm and pulled him towards it. Sonic's eyes widened in concern as he side stepped to follow Shadow's tug. Then, they were in the shade of the trees. "You can't just stand in plain sight."

"Shadow, it's fine. I'm fast enough to outrun them!" Sonic boasted.

"What about before?" Shadow asked.

"They caught me off guard," Sonic said. "Was about to buy a chilidog… held out my hands expecting to get food, instead, got these cuffs. No big deal."

"Chili… dog?" Shadow asked.

"Never heard of a Chilidog?" Sonic asked. Shadow shook his head. "Aww, man! You need to try one! They are THE BEST."

"I like pizza," Shadow said and folded his arms. "Are Chilidogs better than pizza?"

"Uh, YEAH," Sonic said, seeming offended that the question even existed.

"Hmm, we'll see." Shadow narrowed his eyes at Sonic. "Anyway… Sonic. Why are you running from GUN? Are you still getting blamed for my actions?"

"No, Shadow. GUN know about you now. But… I'm not exactly perfect in GUN's eyes," Sonic said. "To be honest, I think they just see my power and want me to work with them."

"Like Rouge," Shadow said. Sonic nodded.

"Yeah. She still working for them?"

"Every now and then. When there's an important mission," Shadow said.

"Hey… Shadow," Sonic said sheepishly. "Try not to get caught, okay? It's not nice."

"I know." Shadow folded his arms. Didn't Sonic know just where Shadow had spent the last 50 years? And what happened to him on that island? Or… what didn't happen.

Sonic's stomach rumbled loudly.

"Uh oh," he said nervously. "Do you… wanna get food with me?"

"No," Shadow said.

"Aww, c'mon Shad! I'll buy you a Chili Dog, then you'll know what real food is," Sonic said.

"I'm not hungry," Shadow said.

"Well, are ya' full?" Sonic asked. Shadow shook his head. "Then you can try one. C'mon!"

"Are you sure about that? What if GUN sets another trap."

"That's because I was in Central City, when I really shouldn't have… knowing how they're kind of based there. They must have heard about me being there and… lured me in. If we go somewhere else, they won't find us."

Shadow looked at Sonic skeptically.

"Deal?" Sonic held out his hand.

Shadow slapped it away and sneered.

"Fine," he said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: This has pretty much turned into a full story now.**

* * *

When Shadow returned to Club Rouge, it was getting dark and she was setting up. Shadow stopped in the doorway and looked at Rouge with wide eyes. He'd been caught.

"I found the jacket," she stated whilst cleaning a glass behind the bar. "Shadow." She suddenly set it down, hovered over the counter with her wings and landed in front of Shadow. Then, she hugged him tightly. "I worried about you."

Shadow shivered and groaned.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I thought-" Rouge pulled away. Shadow clutched his stomach and bent over.

"N-no, it's not that…" he rasped.

"What's wrong?" Rouge exclaimed.

"S-Sonic… m-made me try…" He swallowed, hard, then straightened up. "He made me try Chili dogs."

"And you didn't like them?"

Shadow shook his head.

"Sh-Shadow… don't you remember that your stomach doesn't agree with spice?" Rouge asked.

Shadow shook his head.

"I'm the Ultimate Life Form."

"Made for fighting. Not… digesting chili powder," Rouge said. "Believe me. Sonic's made me try that stuff. It's not nice."

"He insisted it would be better than pizza," Shadow said. He stumbled over to a table and pulled a chair out. He slumped down into it.

"I'll make you a drink," Rouge said and walked back to the bar.

"I-I feel so pathetic…" Shadow rasped as he bowed his head and closed his eyes.

"Shadow, most of our kind react that way to spice. Not all humans can handle it either," Rouge said. "Sonic's just… different, I guess."

Shadow clutched his stomach.

"S-Sonic… really is something," he whispered to himself.

Rouge walked back over to Shadow and placed a glass of drink down on the table. Shadow lifted his head and looked down at it.

"Try some milk. It should calm the pain," Rouge suggested.

OOOOOOOOO

Shadow looked out of the window again whilst bass from the music downstairs crept through the floor. The street looked different at night, because it was dark. Orange overhead streetlights lit the floor below it. Neon signs caught attention of passers by. It was Saturday. Time for people to come out and party their troubles away. That's when Shadow hid. Even if he didn't have to hide his identity, he didn't want to be around the atmosphere anyway.

There was something about being around happy people whilst feeling sad that made Shadow feel even worse.

Suddenly, the music stopped. This caught Shadow off guard. Usually the music would go on longer. Shadow looked at the door, knowing what would come next. After the music turned off, Rouge came upstairs for the night.

But she didn't. Shadow opened the door and looked down the steps. The door at the bottom of the steps was open ajar and the lights were still on downstairs. Shadow crept down and peeked around the door. No one was there, apart from Rouge, grabbing her keys.

"Rouge?"

The bat jumped and looked Shadow's way.

"Oh, Shadow… I had to close early," Rouge said in a tone that sounded like she was hiding sadness. Shadow walked over to her and looked at her in concern. "GUN called me in."

Shadow didn't react. This was normal.

"They never call me at this hour," Rouge said. "Unless it's something."

Shadow's facial expression hardened and he stepped back.

"Be safe," he said.

"I'll always be safe, Shadow," Rouge said and forced a smile. "I'm going to lock up and head out. Don't leave, okay?"

Rouge turned and left Shadow. Walking out of the door and leaving him, she felt terrible. Like she was leaving behind a helpless child. She knew that Shadow could take care of himself… but she could tell that Shadow was fragile, even though he hid it so well. She couldn't stand the thought of any harm coming to him.

GUN HQ wasn't too far away. Using her wings, she arrived in short time. She walked through the main doors, gaining access with her ID card. In the corridor, the Commander greeted her.

"Rouge, step into my office. I need to speak to you," he stated, then led her down the corridor.

"What about… may I ask?"

"Wait until we're in private."

They entered the Commander's office and sat down, the Commander at his desk, and Rouge on the other side. They faced each other. Rouge clasped her hands together nervously. She had a strong feeling of why she'd been brought into the office. All she wanted was for it to end and to go home to Shadow… to know that he was okay.

"Rouge," the Commander began. "You remember Project Shadow."

Rouge closed her eyes and stopped herself from sighing in frustration.

"Yes," she said.

"Just to confirm… he died after the ordeal at Space Colony ARK?" the Commander asked, formally… but there was a hint that he wanted something. Rouge felt as though she was getting set up.

"Yes."

It was true. He did die. But he came back.

"Eggman made copies," the Commander said.

"Yes. I know. I… encountered a lot of them, during our last battle," Rouge said.

"You do know… that to create such perfect clones… the original must exist," the Commander said.

"Are you sure? They're only robots so…"

"Rouge. They're androids, based VERY closely off of the original," the Commander said. "We managed to capture one… and… tested it for DNA. It's there."

"And?" Rouge asked. "What do you want to know?"

"Where is the original, Rouge?" the Commander put his hands on the desk and leaned forward, looking Rouge in the eyes. Rouge tried hard to stare back at him with a neutral expression. "We've seen him, Rouge."

"Where?"

"Near here. In central city."

"When?"

"Today."

Rouge wanted to cover her face with her hands. She told Shadow not to go out without the jacket… and what did he do?

"We nearly caught Sonic. I think Shadow is working with him," the Commander said. "And I think that you are working with him too."

Rouge's face burned with the feeling of accusation.

"He was visiting you, wasn't he, Rouge?" the Commander asked.

Rouge didn't answer. She didn't know what to say.

The Commander gave Rouge a warm smile.

"Rouge, you're one of our most trusted agents. You wouldn't want to cause trouble for us. I understand if you are protecting Shadow because you're friends with him. Or if your alliance with Sonic and his friends has brought you into whatever schemes they're up to."

"Schemes?" Rouge snapped.

"No-no… ignore my wording. That's not what I meant," the Commander shook his hands, then his tone hardened. "Rouge," he warned. "Tell me what you know about Shadow."

Rouge folded her arms.

"We saw him, Rouge!" the Commander slammed his hand down on the desk.

"What if it was an android!" Rouge exclaimed.

"Why would a mindless android visit you, Rouge?" the Commander asked in exasperation. Then, he grit his teeth and quieted his voice. "Look. I want to help you," he said discreetly. "I don't want to have to punish you. Tell me the truth."

"There is no Shadow," Rouge said adamantly and held her head up in defiance.

"Then it's okay by you that I sent an agent to watch your flat," the Commander said.

Rouge's ears drooped.

"Watch…?"

"If you have nothing to hide, then it's okay that someone watches the entrance to your building," the Commander said.

"Fine by me," Rouge said. "They're wasting their time."

"Rouge… this is just a precaution. We got a report of the hedgehog leaving your building earlier today. We… we need him."

"Need him?"

"We need him in our custody. Back in the cryo chamber. Back where he belongs," the Commander said, seeming distant.

"B-because he… tried to destroy the Earth?" Rouge asked quietly. The Commander nodded. "It doesn't matter that he also helped save it last minute?"

"That doesn't help his case one bit," the Commander said.

"He was confused," Rouge said shakily. "He was… just a weapon… you can't punish him for following what was put in his brain."

"Getting passionate, Rouge?" the Commander raised a brow in suspicion.

Rouge swallowed a lump in her throat.

"You may leave. But… let this be a warning. If I find out after today's meeting, after I gave you the chance to own up without consequences," the Commander started, getting heated. "If you help him, Rouge, after your chance… there will be serious consequences."

Rouge nodded.

"I understand, Sir," she said and stood up.

"Last chance, Rouge."

"Goodbye, Commander," Rouge said firmly and walked out of the door. She shut it behind her.

"Goodbye, Rouge…" the Commander returned, rather solemnly. Then he held up his wrist and spoke into the communicator. "Do it."


	5. Chapter 5

OOOOOOO

Shadow hissed and grasped his stomach. It hurt again. He walked over to the fridge and opened it. He tilted his head and looked up and down. Then he spotted the milk bottle and took it out.

"Okay… Shadow… just how Rouge taught you…" he mumbled to himself as he grabbed a glass with his free hand. Then, he poured the milk into the glass. He filled it, then stopped. He set the milk down and admired the full glass. "First try by myself, a success." He smirked arrogantly. He sat down at the small table in the kitchen area and slowly drank the milk.

As he was taking a gulp, his ear twitched when he heard stomping coming up the stairs. Rouge was back this early? No. Something wasn't right.

The door swung open, and a tall human dressed in a black stormed in and looked around whilst staring down a long rifle. The sight of the GUN uniform made Shadow's fur stand on edge.

Shadow leapt to his feet and threw the chair back. He leapt away from the table and got into a fighting position. It just happened.

Shadow suddenly felt self conscious of a milk moustache that he could feel lingering on his top lip. He reached his forearm to wipe it away.

"FREEZE!" the GUN soldier yelled. Shadow winced, and then very slowly brought his arm to his muzzled. The soldier growled. "I mean it-" Shadow wiped his muzzle clean and dropped his arm again. The soldier looked baffled. "You're coming with me."

Shadow stared at him. One arm was still in a ready fighting stance, the other just dropped down as usual.

"MOVE!"

Shadow's stance changed to a neutral one and he just stood and stared at the GUN soldier.

"DO IT!"

BANG

The rifle went off. The Soldier looked in front of him in shock, as if he didn't expect to do that. But, Shadow was no longer there.

"You should watch that temper." Shadow's voice came from behind him. Shadow was standing in the dark stair hallway behind the soldier. He leapt into the air and kicked the soldier in the back of the head. Then, he landed, but didn't anticipate the steps behind him.

OOOOOO

Rouge's heart pounded in her chest. She rushed home and up to her building. The door was open… even though she'd locked it. Broken into. Her heart no longer pounded in her chest. It jumped to her throat and she glided inside.

Then, she heard a bang and Shadow suddenly plummeted out of the door in the back of the room and onto the floor.

"Ugh…." he groaned.

"Shadow!?" Rouge yelled and landed by him. She bent down and shook the hedgehog. "What happened?"

"GUN…" was all Shadow said, then pointed to the doorway he'd just fallen through. "Careful." He pushed himself to his feet.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No. Of course not," Shadow scoffed and brushed himself down. "As if they could ever touch me."

"B-but…"

"That… was my own doing," Shadow said, wincing in regret. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"Sh-Shadow… I think I'm in trouble," Rouge said and bit her lip.

"Why?" Shadow's eyes widened in concern.

"Because," Rouge's voice broke, "I helped you."

"They don't know that. We can get rid of all of this," Shadow said, then pointed at the stairs. "I can make it go away."

Rouge shook her head.

"Shadow… if you do anything to him then it will make us look more guilty," Rouge said.

"Then what do you suggest?" Shadow asked. "I don't want to cause you trouble, Rouge."

"I don't know… I don't want you to get hurt either."

"Do we run away?" Shadow asked. "I can take us anywhere with Chaos Control."

Rouge looked at Shadow in distress. It looked like she was searching for an answer. Shadow grabbed Rouge's hand and looked her in the eye, pleading.

"I can't. I have a life here. I have a business," Rouge said and waved her free arm, signalling to the room around them. "I'll lose it all."

Shadow pulled away.

"Is there a solution to this?" Shadow asked.

"Yes, there is," an unexpected voice came.

Shadow and Rouge turned around to the main door. The Commander was stepping through it. Shadow grabbed Rouge and stepped in front of her, getting into a defensive stance.

"Turn yourself in, Shadow," the Commander said. "And Rouge doesn't need to get hurt. He looked to the side, as if to hide an expression of guilt. "We don't know for sure whether Rouge invited you into her home. You could have broken in. She could be innocent."

"I see." Shadow's shoulders dropped and he straightened up. "I mean. Yes. It's true." Shadow held his head high. "Rouge didn't know I was here."

"Shadow!" Rouge pleaded.

"For goodness sake, Rouge. Be quiet," the Commander said quietly.

"I… keep imposing on her… when… I should never have come here in the first place," Shadow said. He felt his heart sink when he said those words. Not because he was lying. It's because those words were the truth.

Shadow stepped towards the Commander. Rouge grabbed Shadow's arm, but Shadow pulled it away and continued on. The Commander reached out and grabbed Shadow by the shoulder.

"I didn't think it would be this easy," the Commander said. Shadow stopped walking

"I was going to pay for my crimes one way or another," Shadow said. "I just hoped that I'd get more time before that."

"Attempting to destroy the planet does NOT earn you ANY kind of freedom," the Commander talked down to Shadow.

Shadow grit his teeth.

"I can't argue with that," he said monotonously.

"No, Shadow!" Rouge pleaded. "You weren't right in the head! You had fake memories. You were brainwashed."

"I still did it. And I resisted arrest up there so, I should just go," Shadow asserted.

"Shadow… how could you… after all of that trying. To… get better. You can hug now, and… you can make eye contact. And… you can sleep at least once a week. How… can you just give up?"

Shadow tensed up; he felt like his eyes were going to leak again.

"Goodbye, Rouge," Shadow said and walked out of the door. The Commander followed Shadow out.

"Before you think about trying to escape," the Commander said under his breath as he pulled a gun out from his belt. "Rouge will suffer if you do."

"I'm aware," Shadow said. The Commander poked the back of Shadow's head to move him along. Shadow grunted and sped up.

"You're going to suffer for what you did, hedgehog," the Commander hissed and poked Shadow again. Shadow grit his teeth and bared it as the Commander poked him again and again. "I trust that you'll behave and try not to escape."

Shadow didn't answer, he just bit back his frustration.

They got to the GUN vehicle. The Commander opened the door on the passenger side.

"You can ride at the front with me." The Commander whacked Shadow in the back of the head with the GUN.

"AH!" Shadow exclaimed and held the top of his head with both hands, his skull stung in pain.

"I could kill you in a second," Shadow growled.

"And then I wouldn't be around to assure Rouge's safety," the Commander said. "In the eyes of the law, she is guilty. She's only free because I have decided to let her go."

"This is really the end of me," Shadow breathed. Then he climbed into the car.

Shadow stared through the windshield window as he sat and waited for the Commander. Then, he looked out of the side window. Rouge was standing outside of it. Shadow felt his eyes begin to leak. He put his hand on the window. Rouge did the same. Her eyes were leaking… a lot.

Shadow reached out with his other hand to wipe Rouge's tears away, but the glass kept them apart.

SLAM

Shadow flinched. The Commander had gotten in on the driver's side and slammed the door. Then he started the van up. The van suddenly charged forward. Shadow's eyes widened in shock at his kept looking at Rouge until she was out of sight.

"What next?" Shadow asked. "Do I get… a trial?"

"No."

"But… I saw on TV that… when you do something bad you… get a trial to decide your fate," Shadow said.

"Your fate has been decided already and your guilt doesn't need to be debated. You did it," the Commander said. "And you're meant to be kept secret from the public."

Shadow felt helpless.

"But… it's not me anymore," Shadow looked down his his knees. "Can't you please just understand that?"

"This isn't up for debate."

"What's in store for me next, then?" Shadow asked bitterly. "Do I get taken straight to Prison Island?"

"You'll stay with me until the plane is ready to take you there," the Commander explained. "Which should be very soon."

The Commander glanced at the hedgehog, expecting him to say something. Shadow was silent. He was just looking straight ahead, concentrating.

"Project Shadow… you'd better not be trying anything," the Commander warned.

Shadow narrowed his eyes and glanced away.

The Commander pulled up at the side of the road and grabbed his gun. He pushed it against Shadow's head.

"Agh!" Shadow growled.

"Try anything, and you'll get a hole in your head," the Commander said.

"I'm not doing anything!" Shadow snapped.

"Then why are you all tensed up like that? Do not try anything with me. Do not try to teleport. Do NOT try and chaos tricks because you will face the consequences-"

"I have to pee! Okay?" Shadow snapped.

Then Commander's aim dropped and he looked at Shadow incredulously.

"It's a side effect of this new lifestyle Rouge made me try," Shadow said in a low voice through gritted teeth.

"I have… no words…" the Commander scoffed. Then, he put both hands on the steering wheel and drove the van out again. "What is that supposed to mean… 'lifestyle?'"

"I… 'eat' and… 'drink'," Shadow said, air quoting it.

"You must be messed up for something so simple to seem so strange to you," the Commander said.

"It's new to me. I've only been doing it for a few weeks," Shadow said.

"So you're not house trained yet," the Commander said with a spiteful grin. "This is strange. I thought more of the Ultimate Life Form."

"Sorry I didn't live up to your expectations," Shadow remarked.

The van pulled up into GUN HQ. The Commander stepped outside of it and walked over to the other side to open Shadow's door. Shadow pushed himself out and landed on the floor.

"Ugh… I blame Sonic for this," Shadow groaned as he bent over in discomfort. "I he didn't make me try that awful food, then I wouldn't have drank all that milk…"

"You've seen Sonic, today?" the Commander asked.

"Yes. But that shouldn't matter, should it? It's not like he's going to be anywhere closeby, knowing him," Shadow said.

"He is closeby. We got him earlier," the Commander said. Shadow gasped.

"How?"

"Maybe you could ask him yourself, if you're lucky enough to-"

As they were about to walk through the door, they were interrupted by yells from inside.

"The sedative wore off! Get him before he escapes!"

There was the sound of metal jangling then-

SMASH

Shadow plummeted to the ground as someone bumped into him. Shadow recognised him as Sonic.

Soldiers piled out of the double doors and surrounded them.

"I told you to shackle him!" the Commander scolded.

"We did!"

Sonic stumbled to his feet. Shadow grabbed Sonic's ankle as he laid down on the floor. The chains rattled again as Sonic struggled. There was shackles around his ankles as well as his wrists. And the cuffs from earlier were still on. Sonic looked down at Shadow with a pleading expression. Shadow tugged at Sonic's ankle, tripping him up and pulling him to the floor.

Sonic grunted and cried out. Then the soldiers swarmed. About six of them bent down and worked together to hold him still.

"What the hell, Faker! I bought you Ch-chilli dogs!" Sonic shrieked. "S-stop! Not the-GAH."

Shadow watched from the floor, looking up at the scene. The soldiers walked away from Sonic. One of them was holding a needle with an empty syringe. Sonic was trying to stand up, but he seemed woozy. His arms and legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Those Chili Dogs were horrible," Shadow mumbled. Then he sat up. "What did he do?"

"It's none of your business," the Commander said.

"Does Sonic get a trial?"

"If he lets us," the Commander said.

Shadow pushed himself to his feet. Then he walked over to Sonic and looked down at him.

"Who's going to carry him?" Shadow asked. He glanced over his shoulder at the Commander. The Commander signalled his hand back at Shadow. The dark hedgehog sighed, bent down, and picked Sonic up, cradling him in his dark furry arms.

"What the hell have I gotten us into, Sonic?" Shadow sighed to himself as he walked inside.

"How is Sonic in trouble? He's… good. He never did anything wrong," Shadow said as they walked through the large, pristine, empty corridor.

"Countless acts of vandalism… breaking the speed limit whilst running on the road… resisting arrest-"

"Who the hell is going to protect this planet if both of us are in Prison!" Shadow snapped. "One of us has to be around."

"You both have to pay for your crimes," the Commander said.

"But…" Shadow stopped. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Delay my sentence."

"You do not call the shots!" the Commander turned around and pointed at Shadow.

"How long is Sonic likely to be in prison?" Shadow asked.

"3 years at the most… given his good deeds," the Commander said.

"Let me stand in his place while he's there," Shadow pleaded. "And… when Sonic is free then… I'll go into stasis." Shadow's voice got quiet in the end and his closed his eyes. "Please."

"Out of the question."

"What if we get another Metal Sonic! A-a-another Eggman! He's the one who used me for world domination in the first place! He's bound to return! And who the hell stops him each time!? SONIC DOES!" Shadow yelled.

"And you care about the safety of the world all of a sudden?" the Commander remarked.

"YES!" Shadow yelled. "I'm not him anymore! I'm not Gerald's mindless weapon! I have a mind of my own now!"

"Dude! Keep it down!" Sonic called out, sounding woozy. Shadow hissed and dropped him.

"Ugh… what the hell, pal!" Sonic grunted from the floor.

The Commander folded his arms and stared at Shadow for a while.

"Woah, Shadow, do you have to pee?" Sonic asked from the floor. Shadow hissed and glared down at him. "Your doin' the dance."

Shadow looked down at his own legs. They were restlessly fidgeting. Shadow tensed up and forced himself to stand still.

"Ugh!" Shadow exclaimed and stomped his foot in frustration. "Please," he pleaded.

"Put the two of them in a cell. I will think about my decision," the Commander said.

Two soldiers approached and picked Sonic and Shadow up by the quills on their backs. Shadow gasped and grit his teeth in pain as he dangled by what felt like a few quills. Sonic was still slightly out of it so just hung.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Shadow paced back and forth in the cell. Sonic just sat against the wall, restricted in his chains.

"Dude… calm down. Your pacing is stressing me out," Sonic complained.

Shadow stopped and swung around to face Sonic.

"Stressing you out!? What about the fact that you're going to prison!?" Shadow exclaimed. "And I have to pace… to distract myself."

"You can make it, Faker," Sonic said whilst smirking. "You just… have to think of a dry desert or something."

"Wow, Faker, thanks. That solved it," Shadow remarked.

"If it makes you feel any better, I kind of have to pee as well," Sonic sheepishly. "I wonder how long I'll be here."

"3 years at most," Shadow stated. Sonic raised an eye ridge. "The Commander told me about your sentence."

"And what about yours?" Sonic asked.

"You're not… concerned?"

"No way. I'm gonna bust outta here," Sonic said. "What's your sentence?"

"I have to stand here with you," Shadow said through gritted teeth. Then he loosened up and looked at the blue hedgehog. "Sonic," Shadow started. "I've suggested a deal with the Commander. You serve your sentence whilst I protect the world from Eggman… and then I will serve mine."

"No way. We're busting out of here!" Sonic asserted.

"That's not an option for me," Shadow said.

"I'm bustin' outta here then and… I'll keep a look out for Eggman just like normal," Sonic said proudly.

"Whatever works, I guess, Faker," Shadow said and rolled his eyes. Then he began fidgeting again. He gasped in frustration and resumed pacing instead.

"Dude, if you have to go that bad, then teleport outta here," Sonic said. Shadow grit his teeth and glared down at Sonic. "Better yet, you could get the both of us out of here."

"It's a long way to go, and I don't have a chaos emeralds. Also, I don't know where we are in relation to the outside," Shadow said. "I think this place is far underground."

"Then do it in little bursts then," Sonic suggested.

Shadow looked down at himself. Then he sneered at Sonic.

"Disgusting."

"No! I didn't mean that! Teleport in little like… sections. Make a few small journeys until we're outside."

"Not an option," Shadow affirmed.

"Do it to find a bathroom, then come back," Sonic said. Shadow opened his mouth to speak, but was silent. Then he scoffed and looked away from Sonic.

"I was going to do that," Shadow lied as he folded his arms. "But I don't need to."

"Suuuuuuure…." Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Very sure!" Shadow snapped.

"Shadow! Why are you doing this to yourself? You're better than this! What happened to the Shadow that I met that who was literally smart enough to take over the world?"

"He's DEAD!" Shadow yelled. "That Shadow is gone! I'm not him anymore!"

Sonic stumbled to his feet, trying not to trip over his chains.

"Shadow… you may not have his intent, but you still have his skills," Sonic said. "And I'm all about that, y'know. Using your power for good, no matter what you've done in the past. You can always redeem yourself."

"I will redeem myself by taking responsibility for my crimes!"

"By sitting in prison!? For how long, Shadow? I got a few years and I'm a hero! What about you, after what you did?" Sonic asked.

"I have a death sentence, Faker," Shadow said, biting back his anger. "But I'm the Ultimate life form so I'll just come back each time they try to kill me. So guess where I'm headed?"

Sonic looked at Shadow with a horrified expression.

"Back to where I was born. Not where my memories tell me I was born. I was I was really born. Where I really took my first breath," Shadow said. "Back to the cryochamber."

"They can't do that to you!" Sonic called out. He grabbed Shadow's arm. "I won't let them!"

"I have to go, Sonic… or Rouge will get hurt for helping me. And she has a life that she wants to stay in. So, I have to respect her wishes," Shadow said firmly as he faced outside of the cell.

Then, he heard footsteps getting louder. Then, the Commander walked out from the left side and stood in front of their cell.

"You two had better not be up to anything," he asked. "I've come to a decision."

Shadow stepped back; he bumped into Sonic. The blue hedgehog grabbed him by the arms. The two of them stared at the Commander with wide eyes of anticipation.

"Sonic. You will serve your sentence, and Shadow will take your place while you're gone," the Commander said.

"Then?" Shadow asked.

"You know what happens then, Shadow," the Commander said. Shadow grit his teeth and looked to the floor, thinking. "There is no way out of it, Shadow. If you don't turn up at the end of Sonic's sentence, then we won't release him."

Sonic glanced at Shadow with an uncomfortable expression. Shadow glared at the Commander.

"Are you humans so pathetic that you have to use guilt tactics to control me?" he growled.

"Don't worry about me, Shadow, I can handle myself," Sonic said in a low, annoyed voice whilst he also stared at the Commander.

"So, now Rouge AND Sonic's fate depends on me going back to the Cryochamber?" Shadow complained.

"And who says I have to do this sentence?" Sonic asked confidently. "You can't keep me prisoner. You couldn't do it before, so what makes you think that you can do it now?" He smirked.

The Commander suddenly pulled a small gun from his pocket and pulled the trigger, aimed at Sonic. But didn't make a loud sound; and a tranquiliser dart was lodged in Sonic shoulder. The blue hedgehog gasped and stumbled backwards until he was leaning against the wall again, then he slipped down towards the floor and his eyes closed.

Shadow swallowed a lump of nerves in his throat.

"And… you are staying in our sight, at all times," the Commander said.

"No…" Shadow growled and narrowed his eyes.

"Welcome to your new home."

Shadow gasped as the Commander walked away.

"Take them," the Commander said. Then, two GUN soldiers walked into view and unlocked the cell with a code on the outside. One of them walked over to Sonic and picked him up by the back quills again. The other reached for Shadow.

Shadow jumped back and got into a defensive position.

"Back off! I can walk myself," Shadow said. The soldier led him out of the cell.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Shadow sat in one of the entertainment rooms in GUN HQ. It's where soldiers rested between shifts. Most of the rooms had a few vending machines, a coffee machine, a radio, and a TV, amongst many comfortable chairs. Shadow always took the small armchair in the corner of the room. He laid sideways across it, leaning on one armrest as if it were the back and rested his elbows on it; he also propped his legs over the other armrest. He preferred this than to take up a whole sofa. This wasn't like Rouge's place. This was a room shared by many others, and he didn't want to get in anyone's way.

He watched the human soldiers chat and watch TV out of the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything. He didn't make eye contact. He just kept to himself.

If he had the choice, he would have sat outside, or in a room of his own, but the Commander insisted that Shadow stay in the view of at least one soldier at all times.

Shadow wasn't an employee… he was a prisoner… awaiting 'execution'.

OOOOOOOO

"Stop pacing."

Sonic didn't respond, he just walked up and down his cell between the two bunk beds on either side of the small cramped cell that he was in. It was dimly lit. There were no windows, because the room was far underground.

"BRO! STOP PACING!"

Sonic stopped and glared at the cell mate sitting on the bottom bunk to the right. It was a sapient, just like him; also wearing an orange jump suit, just like him. All four cellmates were wearing it.

"Look, I know you're like, fast and all that, but could you just stop pacing! It's driving me insane!"

Sonic continued staring at his cellmate. Then, a wide smirk grew on his face, and he continued pacing.

The cellmate started to look more and more angry. He was brown and scruffy with small pointy ears. He stood up and stepped in front of Sonic. Sonic stopped and grinned in the guy's face.

"Y'think I'm scared?" Sonic asked.

"Well, Y'should be," his scruffy cellmate remarked. A purple feathered sapient jumped down from the opposite top bunk, and a green scaled sapient stood up from the bottom one on the same side. They stood behind Sonic.

"A little intervention, huh?" Sonic remarked.

"Look, we don't wanna hurt you," the purple one said. "But… we're gonna have to if you keep doing that."

"Botherin' you guys that much, huh?" Sonic asked. He folded his arms and tilted his head, forcing a sarcastic grin. "Kinda strange. It's almost as if we're in prison or somethin'."

"I swear to Chaos, hedgehog! If you make that joke ONE more time-!" the green one exclaimed.

"Aww, don't like that back talk? It's almost like we're-"

The brown one threw a punch, but Sonic ducked, so the brow one punched the purple one because he was standing behind green one tried to grab Sonic, but Sonic rolled out between the two cellmates behind him and backed up against the cell door.

"Do you know who I am?" Sonic said arrogantly. The three cellmates stormed towards him. Sonic just jumped over them and landed in the middle of the room. "Try all you like! You can't catch me!"

Suddenly, there was a sliding sound. A tray with four bowls of grey slop was pushed onto a tray hanging below the window of the door. The brown sapient sneered at Sonic, then smirked. He took one of the bowls, and used the spoon in it to start shovelling the contents into the other bowls equally. Sonic tilted his head, watching in confusion. Then he realised what was happening.

"Guys, c'mon," Sonic said in exasperation.

"Great, we all get extra today," the purple one said, ignoring Sonic. Sonic clutched his abdomen with his gloveless hand. The other three began eating and walking over to the bunk beds.

"HEY!" Sonic yelled. "I'm hungry!"

"Doesn't seem like it. You've got lots of energy," the brown one smirked. "Besides, you hate this stuff. Consider this a favour."

Sonic glared at the others with gritted teeth. Then, he scoffed, jumped up onto his bed, which was a top bunk, then sat leaning against the wall with his legs pulled up to his arms, and sulked to himself.

By the side of him on the wall was a tally chart carved into the brick… with only 10 scratches.

OOOOOOOOOO

Rouge walked through the doors of GUN, having been called in urgently. The Commander greeted her in the hallway. The two of them stopped.

"Agent Rouge," he said formally. "As you may have heard, there's a threat from Eggman at the edge of the City. "You should go and retrieve your new partner from break room 6." The Commander gave a slight smile, then stepped aside to let Rouge through.

"A partner? But I've never worked with a partner, not since-" She stopped herself. Then she took in a deep breath. She promised herself that she wasn't going to cry over losing Shadow again. "Okay." She walked swiftly towards the break room.

OOOOOOOO

Shadow was sitting in his usual seat with his head tilted back, staring up at the ceiling. A few of the soldiers hanging out in the room suddenly stood up. Shadow noticed and tilted his head to glance at them. One of them was left sitting.

"Wait, don't leave! I'm the last one here!" he suddenly exclaimed. Chuckles came from outside of the door. It was just Shadow and the man left. "So. I'm on Project Shadow duty."

"Yes. It seems so," Shadow commented absentmindedly and looked back up at the ceiling.

"OH! Agent Rouge! Thank you! Now I can leave!" the young soldier said. Shadow sat up and looked at the door with wide eyes. The soldier was running out of it, and Rouge walking into room. She stopped at the doorway suddenly and looked at Shadow with a blank expression.

Shadow stood up and stared back at Rouge with a similar one.

"Oh, Shadow," Rouge rasped. Shadow noticed that her eyes were leaking. He ran over to her to wipe the tears away from her muzzle. "I th-thought…"

"The Commander and I had an agreement," Shadow said hurriedly. "I'm here for now."

"For now?"

"W-why are you here?" Shadow suddenly asked. Rouge frowned at Shadow, but answered anyway.

"We have a mission. To take down Eggman before he can get anywhere with his new evil scheme."

"Are you sure? That means I can leave!" Shadow said. "I've not been outside since I got here. I've not even seen a window."

Rouge smiled at him.

"Well, not you can go out in the sun… while we beat Eggman," Rouge said. Shadow suddenly grabbed Rouge by the arm whilst smirking at her. "It's on the east side of the city." Shadow nodded.

"Chaos control."

The two of them teleported. A large robot the size of a large building was approaching the city. Shadow smirked and walked over to it, outstretching an arm and forming a chaos spear. He threw it at the cockpit.

A few moments later, a speaker crackled.

"Oh! You blasted blue hedgehog! I should have known you'd turn up!" Eggman's voice yelled out of it. Shadow tsked and folded his arms.

"Look down," he called out. The Robot tilted forward. Shadow looked at Eggman through the thick, clear glass of the cockpit. Eggman's head ducked back when he noticed Shadow.

"Oh… uh, Shadow. It's you. I wondered when you'd show up… ever since I noticed you'd gone missing from my vault."

"And who do you think I was during your 'Metal Sonic's' rebellion?" Shadow remarked.

"One of my androids," Eggman said rather nervously.

Shadow grit his teeth, formed a large chaos spear, energy rattling from his hand. Then, he swiped it at the leg of the large robot. All it did was make a deep scratch.

"HEY!"

Shadow chuckled darkly. He formed another spear. Small doors slid open at the front of the robot's torso; lasers shot from it. Shadow flipped backwards. That's when Rouge joined in. She flapped her wings and rocketed towards the cockpit. The gave it a firm kick. Eggman hoisted the control sticks inside, making the robot swing to turn. The hand reached up and grabbed Rouge. She cried out.

Shadow gasped, then did Chaos control. He teleported to the robot's arm and landed on top of it. He stumbled, waving his arms about to keep his balance. Then, he lifted his arm and brought his hand down to whack one of the joints in the robot's large metal hand. Nothing happened. Shadow growled and threw a spear at it. Again, it did nothing. Then, the large arm suddenly flailed and threw Shadow into the wall of a nearby building. He grunted as he was struck in a crater, made by his impact.

"No more playing around," He growled in frustration. Then, he rolled up into a ball and flew into the robot's metal shell. Then, he hit it over and over and over again, rapidly. The large robot began to vibrate.

"GAH! Stop that!" Eggman called out. He made the large mechanical claw drop Rouge. She fell for a second, then flapped her wings. Shadow stopped and landed on top of the cockpit. "CHAOS…"

"N-No! Shadow! Please don't!" Eggman cowered.

Shadow was glowing red and standing straight and tense. He tilted his head and looked down at Eggman in disdain.

"So. You can deal it, but you can't take it," Shadow said. "I have a right mind to teleport you right to Prison Island. Why should I be the only one to suffer the consequences after our attempt to destroy the world?"

"Attempt to dominate the world!" Eggman corrected. "You just hijacked it!"

"I used you," Shadow smirked. His red glow died down.

"S-so you should be a in prison… a-and I should be let go, b-because you manipulated me!" Eggman stuttered nervously.

"Nice try!" Shadow clasped his hands together, lifted them above his head, and smashed down onto the glass of the cockpit.

"Shadow! Leave that to me! You'll hurt yourself!" Rouge called out. She spun a screw kick at the cockpit again. It made a scratch.

"I-" Shadow hit it again. "Don't!" SMASH, "CARE!"

The cockpit clicked and the round machine detached from the large robot. Shadow stumbled back after the sudden movement, but he managed to grab onto a hinge at the bottom of it and clasped onto it. Eggman flew right up into the sky, but Shadow grit his teeth and bared it.

"Oh, what do you have in here, doctor?" Shadow asked, seething in anger.

"A claw, for grabbing things- It's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Eggman suddenly exclaimed. He rocked his flying machine back and forth, then side to side, shaking the whole thing around, but Shadow stayed latched on.

Rouge pulled up beside them, gliding at full speed.

"SHADOW! Grab my hand!" she called out to him. Shadow growled.

"NO!"

"Just give up, Shadow! We can get him another time!" Rouge called out.

"Yes! Another time!" Eggman exclaimed in delight. "Goodbye!" The cockpit suddenly turned on its side, doing a complete 360 turn. It threw Shadow into the air. He grit he teeth, concentrated and landed on top of it when it was upright again.

"Ugh! Get lost you pesky little hedgehog! You're just as slippery as Sonic," Eggman scoffed. Shadow just stared ahead, concentrating hard, trying hard not to get thrown off the slippery glass top to a round, fast, flying machine.

"Where is he, by the way?" Eggman asked nonchalantly.

"Trapped on Prison Island" Shadow said. "You should be there, in his place," Shadow growled down at Eggman.

"How? We blew that place sky high!" Eggman said and waved a hand.

"The sub-basement was spared," Shadow said.

"Hmm. Interesting," Eggman commented, then plunged his gearsticks forward.

But Eggman sped up and rushed forward. Shadow slipped and fell off of the machine.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Shadow's stomach twisted as he felt a falling feeling, then,

CLASP

Rouge grabbed both of his hands, then hovered in the air.

"SHADOW! Never do that again!" she scolded.

"I was fine," Shadow deadpanned. "And-"

The two of them disappeared. Suddenly, they were hovered just above the pavement, right by the abandoned robot.

"... I can do that," Shadow finished. Rouge dropped him. Shadow landed on his feet. Rouge slowly descended and stood beside him.

"Next time, he'll either be dead or rotting on Prison Island when I'm done with him," Shadow said, glaring up at the sky.

Then, the sound of an approaching plane sounded, then got louder and louder. A small yellow and blue plane landed on the pavement. Shadow folded his arms and looked at it in suspicion. As he watched the plane, he noticed Tails jump out of the driver's seat. Shadow half expected to see Sonic leap out of it. But, of course, Sonic didn't.

Shadow felt guilty.

"Sonic!? I came as fast as I could!" Tails called out, looking around frantically.

Shadow felt even more guilty. He swallowed hard, took in a deep breath, and walked over to Tails. Tails noticed him.

"Oh… uh… Shadow?" he said in confusion.

"That's right. There's no Sonic here," Shadow said and folded his arms. Then his eye ridges furrowed as he looked down at the fox who was shorter than him. "Tails…" he said solemnly. "You… might not see Sonic for a while."

Tails' ears lowered with worry and sadness.

"Why?" he asked.

"He… went to prison."

"What?" Rouge whispered from behind Shadow. Shadow nodded.

"H-he won't be long, though. It'll be three years-"

"3 years!?" Tails cut in. Shadow grit his teeth.

"3 years… at most… and then he'll be back, just like normal," Shadow said.

"Don't talk down to me!" Tails exclaimed. "Sonic won't be fine! Why is he even there!? He was proven innocent!"

"Yeah. But… he did a few other things," Shadow said. Shadow looked at him gravely. "I do not suggest that you break him out. It will only make things worse. For you, and him. Things are different this time."

"You mean you're not trying to destroy the world this time?" Tails remarked.

"Yes," Shadow nodded. Then he looked away. "I'm sorry." He turned around and started walking away.

Rouge grabbed Shadow by the shoulder.

"Shadow, what's going on?" Rouge asked as they walked away.

"The Commander and I… we came to an agreement," Shadow hissed under his breath, hoping Tails wouldn't hear. "Sonic serves his sentence, I guard the world from Eggman for that time, and then… I serve mine."

Rouge stopped and looked at Shadow in despair. Shadow continued walking.

"For now," Rouge said. "That's why you said: 'for now.' You're not free… you're… you're… just…"

"Waiting to die," Shadow said, biting back his disgust. He sat down on a bench in an untouched part of the city. He wrapped his arms around his chest. Rouge sat down with him and put a comforting arm around him. "I don't know if it's better… or worse."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Stop swinging your legs."

Sonic rested his hands in his lap and twiddled his thumbs as his legs dangled over the side of the top bunk that he was sitting on. His legs were swinging restlessly. By the side of him, his carved tally chart was getting bigger. This time, it had two hundred tallies.

"I swear to Chaos, stop swinging your legs or else I'll break them off!" the purple scaled sapient yelled.

Sonic looked straight at him and grinned whilst still swinging his legs.

"No, Sonic. You may think it's fun, to work us up, to cause trouble. But it's NOT fun for us, okay! You need to stop! We're all goin' crazy in here, but you're the only one causin' trouble!"

Sonic's legs stopped swinging and he looked down.

"Running was my life. Adrenaline. Adventure," Sonic said weakly. "The wind in my fur. The sun on my skin. Freedom." He gave a sad smile for a second, feeling like he was there… in the open, running. "Chili-dogs."

Sonic's stomach growled. But not for the grey slop they were fed twice a day. For real food.

"I don't care what Shadow says. Chili-dogs are the best!" Sonic said and slammed his fist onto the mattress.

"Okay. Calm down," the purple one said.

"Alright! Listen up!" a faint voice echoed from outside. "There's a little public outcry from not letting you rodents outside so… since the repairs to the upper floor are stable enough to let you all out, you're allowed an hour of fresh air."

Sonic felt his heart flutter and his stomach lift. He slowly pushed himself off of the bed. His feet hit the floor and he stumbled over to the door.

"Well well, Sonic. Exactly what you asked for," the purple one said with a grin.

One by one, the cell doors were opened for the first time in months. Sonic felt strange… foreign… walking out in the corridor. All he'd known for over 200 days was the same four walls. The same four steps worth of pacing, one direction then the other. The same three people. The same routine. Then, it had changed.

Excitement welled up inside of him as he walked in line, ready to walk out of the doors. Soon, he saw the light. The beautiful sunlight. He walked out of the doors in squinted. The sun. He slowly walked out into the large concrete yard that was newly built, with high, high walls with barbed wire at the top, and watch towers. Then, Sonic fell to his knees and looked up at the sky. And for the first time in over 200 days… the smile on his face wasn't one of malice or mischief… it was a real smile.

OOOOOOOOO

"Wh-when did Project Shadow get a gun?"

The soldiers in the break-room all turned around one by one and looked at Shadow, sitting in the corner of the room, looking down at a gun in his hands. He slowly turned it in his hands and looked it over.

One of the soldiers felt his pockets.

"Oh crap-" he suddenly ran over to Shadow, but stopped about a meter away. "Project Shadow… give us the gun," he said with complete caution.

The room was silent. Shadow looked up and stared forward at them.

"You can have it back," he said in a monotone voice. Then, he pointed the gun upwards and pressed the tip of it against the bottom of his chin.

"P-project Shadow! You can't do that!" the soldier exclaimed.

Shadow chuckled darkly.

BANG

OOOOOOO

Shadow's head hurt, badly. He felt like… like something had been driven through his brain. He remembered what he'd done.

"H-how long was I out?" Shadow rasped.

"About five minutes," the Commander said. Shadow looked up in surprise when he heard that voice. "Clean up this mess."

Shadow slowly sat up, rubbing his head. His eyesight was blurry, but he would see a green blood splatter against the wall. His sight focused and he keeled back in disgust.

"That's what colour my blood is!?" Shadow exclaimed.

"Don't you know?" the Commander asked, admiring the green liquid. "Your origins, Shadow. Your immortality."

"Stop being so cryptic and explain!" Shadow snarled. Shadow looked around. He noticed the room was empty of the soldiers.

"I was there!" the Commander yelled. "When you were conceived, in that tank, on the ARK! Before you grew into what you are now, and put into stasis. You're… you're an alien hybrid."

Shadow covered his mouth with his hand. Never mind his eyes leaking… he felt like his throat was going to spew. He swallowed hard, shivering and sweating from the muzzle.

"C-Commander… is that… why you hate me?" Shadow shivered whilst looking at the floor.

"It's why I know that you're dangerous and need to be kept under control," the Commander said. "Apart from the fact that you tried to destroy the world."

"P-permission to use the bathroom, sir?" Shadow grunted, whilst looking at the floor with wide eyes.

"For goodness sake. A little vomit won't matter. You're cleaning up this mess anyway," the Commander remarked. Then he turned his back to Shadow. Shadow immediately bent over and threw up to the side of him.

"I'll get the mop," the Commander said and left the room.

Shadow wanted to stand up and get a drink, but his legs wouldn't move. So he just stayed sitting on the floor that felt like it was spinning.

His identity problems just got ten time worse.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Before Sonic went outside, he counted the tally on his wall. 230. He'd tried to count in his head just how many days 3 years was. There were 365 days in a year… right? So… times it by 3…

Sonic felt up his fingers, staring at them, thinking. It had to be over 1000 days; he knew that at least.

So he had about 800 to go. And things were looking better. He was allowed outside for an hour every day. He began to feel empowered as he walked in circles around the yard, amongst the chaos of the other inmates. He didn't run. He'd tried it already. And it didn't go down well with the guards. So Sonic stuck to walking.

Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over him. Sonic tilted his head back and looked up. There was a dark, round object hovering above him. Other inmates' attentions were caught, but Sonic concentrated on the object above him. Then, a hatch opened in the round object and something long dangled down. It was a large metal claw. Sonic just stood there. He had a feeling about it. The metal claw opened around Sonic, then closed, grabbing him. Sonic just hung there, arms and legs dangling as he was pulled upwards. Then, the object flew over the vast land of jungle until it reached the edge.

"Thanks… uhh…" Sonic didn't know who he was thanking.

"You're welcome… hedgehog!"

Sonic's eyes widened. He recognised that voice.

"Egghead," Sonic said. He smiled warmly and tiredly. "Thanks."


	9. Chapter 9

Sonic grunted as he hit the smooth, metal floor, hands and knees first. He laid there for a few moments whilst Eggman parked his flying machine and jumped out of it.

"This is not what I was expected freedom would feel like," Sonic said as he laid there. Then he pushed himself to his knees, fell back and sat down. He looked around the room. He was in a large control room, with a large monitor and a control desk. The floor was metal and so were the walls. An impenetrable prison… maybe a prison. Sonic didn't know Eggman's intentions yet.

"What do you think?" Eggman asked, lifting his hands to motion to the room.

"Nice new base… Egghead…" Sonic said tiredly with a slight smile. Eggman leaned forward and looked at Sonic in suspicion. "Where's that… spark of yours?"

Sonic tilted his head.

"What… you mean: this?" Sonic said, then forced a mischievous grin.

"There it is!" Eggman pointed at Sonic. "As much as I hate you, hedgehog, I do admire you for your… resilience."

The door to the room slid open. A small red robot made of two spheres and a small yellow robot made of two cubes floated into the room.

"Oh, you captured Sonic. How's our new prisoner doing?" the red one asked politely.

"Orbot…" Eggman said through gritted teeth.

"Prisoner, eh?" Sonic jumped to his feet. "We'll see about that!"

The doors had already closed. Sonic did a spin dash, but it made no dent. Then, Sonic uncurled and looked up at the ceiling. They'd flown inside through a round hatch at the top of the room. It was also closed. Sonic grit his teeth and made fists while he glared at Eggman.

"What? Did you think that I rescued you out of the kindness of my heart?" Eggman mocked whilst he put his hand on his chest with fake emotion.

"What do you want _me_ for?" Sonic motioned his hands towards himself.

"Oh, nothing much, Sonic. I'm just making sure that you're not in the Government's possession when I make my next attack. If I manage to take over the world, then I don't want them deploying you to take me down in return for your freedom or something," Eggman said.

"How did you know I was there?" Sonic asked.

"Shadow told me," Eggman said. "I just needed to wait for the right moment to free you."

"The right moment? What are you planning?" Sonic asked.

"Nothing. I only just noticed that prisoners are allowed outside now," Eggman said, brushed it off. "Sorry. I would have come sooner if I knew."

"You're not planning anything at all?" Sonic remarked whilst he folded his arms and looked at Eggman incredulously. "You just said you're gonna make another attack."

"Ah, Sonic. Of course I'm going to try again. But my intentions are different now." Eggman explained with enthusiasm. "Before, I wanted to dominate the whole world. I wanted people to feel terror and to fear me! But then I realised, that that's not the life that I want to live.

I don't want people to hate me. I want them to love me. And what better way to do that, than to create my very own Utopia called-" He pointed a small remote at his giant screen. A firework animation played, and then a title in huge, neon letters came up. "EGGMANLAND!"

Sonic looked at it, furrowing his eyes in astonishment. Eggman noticed this and brought his hand to his mouth and cleared his throat.

"The logo is a work in progress," he said timidly. "BUT! There's something that could stop us from fulfilling the dream-"

"Us?" Sonic remarked. Eggman glanced at Sonic with an expression that encouraged the hedgehog to shut up.

"... from fulfilling the dream!" Eggman pointed his remote at the screen again. There was a picture of the Earth on it, in bright colours of blue and green as it should have been. Suddenly, it turned black, brown, cloudy.

"What? Global Warming? Maybe you should cut down on your carbon footprint Egghead, and stop making robots."

"NO! Not global warming! Aliens!" Eggman exclaimed. "Aliens are coming to take over the planet! How can I build Eggmanland if there's no one left to dominate- I-I mean… entertain!"

"Aliens?" Sonic said in disbelief. "This is why you're keepin' me here? Because of some crazy alien theory?"

"It's not a theory! I was looking through my Grandfather's old files again and found something that changes everything- EVERYTHING! Every 50 years, a Black Comet passes by this planet."

"Oh. I heard of that. It must be coming' up soon. I-I think… what month is it? March?"

"June!" Eggman exclaimed. "They will be here in less than a week."

"Woah… uh…" Sonic looked down at the floor, not sure whether or not it was all true. "And this… Black Comet has… Aliens in it?"

"Yes," Eggman said regrettably. "And my grandfather made a deal… after Maria was killed... so if Shadow didn't destroy everything… these Aliens would instead."

Sonic looked at Eggman with wide, worried eyes.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Shadow looked into the sky. The communicator on his wrist crackled. Then,

"Project Shadow. Where are you?" the Commander scolded. Shadow didn't answer; he left his arms dangling by his sides whilst looking upwards. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the warm sun beating down on his eyelids.

Just like Maria wanted to. Even if Shadow never knew her.

"Project Shadow. If you are not permitted to leave the break room, then why aren't you there?"

Shadow growled to himself.

"SHADOW!"

Shadow looked down and lifted his wrist to his face. He spoke into his communicator.

"I'm in the bathroom," he lied.

"You're not. I checked. Unless you ignored me when I called your name," the Commander remarked. Shadow winced in regret.

"Fine. I'm not there. I'm outside," he admitted.

"Shadow… please tell me why you've disobeyed my order," the Commander said. "Which one of you let him go!?" Shadow heard the Commander shout out into the room, but the communicator was still on

"Don't blame them!" Shadow yelled into his communicator. "I teleported."

"Ah, which is why none of them saw you leave…" the Commander deduced. "Okay, Shadow. You will be punished."

"I don't care."

"You should care, and you will care," the Commander said firmly. "Or should I remind you of what will happen to Sonic if you disobey."

Shadow sighed and winced in regret.

"Fine… I'll come back," he said sadly. He closed his eyes and and was about to teleport. But a shiver went down his spine and suddenly he felt cold. He looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were pluming in the sky. "C-Commander…" Shadow spoke into his communicator. "I have a bad feeling… a-about this storm…"

"What storm, Shadow?" the Commander asked impatiently.

"I have to go!" Shadow yelled. Then, he started running, towards the centre of the swirling storm. He felt compelled to. Like a magnet, pulling him. But the clouds went on for miles and miles. Shadow closed his eyes and teleported, using the feeling inside of him to guide him.

When he opened his eyes and looked around him, he realised that he wasn't in central city anymore. He was in Westopolis, and dark creatures were falling from the sky.

Shadow lifted his wrist to his arm.

"Commander! Send troops to Westopolis! NOW!" he yelled.

Then, Shadow felt his body stiffen up. He straightened his back, unable to move. He watched the street around him turn to chaos as black scaled creatures swarmed road. He wanted to help the people running, but couldn't move.

"Shadow…" a dark, distorted voice came from behind him. "I see… my deal… it paid off." A large floating being hovered into Shadow's sight. Shadow followed him with his pupils, with a wide eyed expression. The alien creature had long horns coming out of the sides of its head, and three glowing red eyes. It had long robes and several chains with metallic symbols dangling from its torso. The sight of this creature repulsed Shadow, but also enticed him as well.

"W-who are you?" Shadow grunted to ask. It was even hard to move his jaw to speak.

"I am Black Doom. And Shadow, you have a duty to perform. Find the seven chaos emeralds, and bring them to me, as promised."

Shadow felt his body loosen. He could move again. The hedgehog fell to his knees and looked up at Black Doom in horror.

"Y-you're… the alien," Shadow said whilst shaking. "That… I share DNA with."

"Yes, Shadow. But we are not at all equals. You are a part of me, and not the other way around. I can control you. So you… will do as I say."

Shadow felt his skull hurt with agony worse than anything he'd ever felt. He grabbed the sides of his head and pushed hard, but it did nothing to help. Shadow gasped in relief as it stopped.

"That… is just a small, demonstration of what I can do to you if you do not obey me," Black Doom said. "Find the seven chaos emeralds."

Shadow nodded and pushed himself to his feet. Then, with an expressionless nod… he walked through the burning, wild streets of the city with one goal in mind. Find the emeralds.

OOOOOOO

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bacey."

Sonic opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor of Eggman's control room. He didn't realise he'd falling asleep. It occurred to him that he felt more safe in Eggman's company than he did with prisoners. His prison experience had left him drained.

Sonic sat up and squinted. In front of him was Orbot, holding a plate of breakfast food. Sonic looked down at it for a second.

"You fell asleep mid sentence last night," Eggman said. He was eating his own breakfast from the chair of his control panel. He shovelled some fried egg into his mouth.

"Oh right," Sonic said and rubbed his eyes.

"I've done some calculations… retrieved some data from my satellites. The Black Comet should be here… today," Eggman said.

Sonic jumped his his feet.

"I thought you said we had a week!" he exclaimed.

"I said less than a week. That could have meant anything from 6 days to just one day," Eggman said. "Now eat your bacey- I'm mean bacon."

Sonic took the plate from Orbot and looked down at it. Then, he grabbed the fork off the plate and quickly ate. He felt ravenously hungry.

"Wow, Sonic, I never considered you a bacon lover," Eggman remarked. He held out his empty plate. Orbot took it. Sonic finished chewing his mouthful and swallowed.

"Anything's better than that slop they fed me in prison," Sonic said gratefully, then continued eating. Eggman started working at his control panel, typing onto the keyboard. Then, something popped up on the screen.

It was breaking news. Images of the city of Westopolis getting invaded by the black aliens played on the screen. Sonic dropped his own empty plate. It smashed on the floor. But he didn't care. He ran over to the screen and watched closer.

"This is it," Sonic said. Then he stood straight and confident. "Eggman. Take me a Tails. Then Tails and I will find Knuckles… a-and you go and rally the others. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Eggman nodded.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Shadow slowly walked through Westopolis. He was trying hard to fight the mind control. It felt the same as it did when he was trying to destroy the world. Only one thing in his mind, shouting at him over and over again.

'Find the Chaos Emeralds. Find the Chaos Emeralds. Find the Chaos Emeralds.' It drove him. It pushed him like a magnet. It made him want to tear his brain from his skull. When it was Gerald's brainwashing… it was memories and reasons that drove Shadow to find the emeralds. This time, it was just a command. No reason. Just… find the seven Chaos Emeralds.

Shadow saw one of them up ahead. The green one. It seemed… so easy. How was it there all along? It made no sense. He turned around when he felt a presence behind him. There was a something black with just tentacles… kind of like a strange flying starfish. It was hovering… following him. Shadow felt an urge to attack it, but his arms didn't move when he tried.

"Shadow. I will use my third eye to watch you," Black Doom's voice came out of the flying thing. "Go on. Collect the emerald."

Shadow walked forward, feeling as though he was on autopilot. He picked up the emerald.

"That was too easy."

"It was a test. To make sure that my mind control is working. It is. The rest of the journey will not be so easy. But it's nothing that my strongest offspring cannot handle."

Shadow grit his teeth. He wanted it to stop.

Then, up ahead, he saw something blue approach him.

"Hey, Shadow! Long time no see!"

Shadow stood and stared at Sonic, surprised to see him. Wearing his usual red shoes and white gloves, looking as free as ever.

"S-Sonic… you're out?" Shadow asked. Sonic smirked.

"Yeah! We've gotta give everything we've got to defeat these Black Aliens," Sonic said. Shadow wanted to stick around, but he felt compelled to walk forward. Sonic's eyes widened in concern; he grabbed Shadow's arm. "Shad-?"

Shadow pulled his arm away and looked at Sonic threateningly.

The words went around in Shadow's head again and again.

'Find the Chaos Emeralds. Find the Chaos Emeralds. Find the Chaos Emeralds.'

Sonic stood in front of Shadow. Shadow's head hurt. He wanted to fight it, but he was losing his will.

'Find the Chaos Emeralds. Find the Chaos Emeralds… and destroy anyone who gets in the way.'

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hi I'd really appreciate it if more people reviewed. Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Wow! People actually reviewed! Thanks!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

"Shadow! What's going on!?" Sonic exclaimed. Shadow had started throwing punches. It was easy for Sonic to dodge, but he was taken by surprise. "I-If this is about me escaping from Prison… it was Eggman. He just took me." Sonic jumped back. He felt something cold and smooth on his back as he bumped into something. He turned around. It was a Black Arms alien. Tall, hard, with a cold, dead stare. He turned around again, and Shadow was looking at him with the same stare.

Something told Sonic that it wasn't Shadow… it wasn't him in there.

Sonic jumped to the side and avoided the attack of both Shadow and the alien. Sonic then started stepping backwards, keeping his eyes on Shadow, watching him warily.

Then, Shadow's expression turned soft, and worried.

"S-Sonic…" he called out, reaching an arm towards him. "Please… I-I need…"

Shadow grunted and put his hands on his head. He closed his eyes tight.

"Y-you need to run. D-don't fight me!" Shadow yelled, his eyes were wide and panicked. "A-and I need you t-to… to SEAL ME!"

Sonic stared at Shadow for a few moments.

"R-run… just ru-"

Shadow's voice stopped. His cold stare was back. Then he lifted his arm and formed a Chaos Spear.

Sonic looked up and noticed a star shaped black creature hovering above Shadow at a distance. Then he knew, it was no use trying to talk to Shadow. He turned and ran, just avoiding the chaos spear thrown at him.

OOOOOOOO

Shadow ran through Westopolis, and every human soldier that was in his path, he jumped up and hit them with a homing attack. Shadow's metal shoes impacted their solid helmets and knocked them out.

Shadow tried to stop himself, but his arms and legs moved against his will… and every time he hurt one of his comrades… it wounded his soul. Men he'd met before. Men he hadn't met, but shared the same uniforms as the ones he knew. Shadow was a part of GUN… and he was hurting its soldiers one by one. He begged in his mind to Black Doom.

'Please, please, stop. I will find the Chaos Emeralds. Don't make me hurt them.'

Doom's eye followed behind Shadow. He chuckled from Doom's eye.

"What's this? You don't like hurting people?" Black Doom said. "Gerald didn't do as much to your memory as I would have imagined."

'He did. But I forgot. And I know it's all fake. I don't want to hurt innocent people.'

"Oh, but Shadow, you hate them… deep down," Black Doom said slowly and darkly. "These memories… they are still in here."

Shadow continued running through the city against his will.

'Those memories are Fake.'

"They aren't yours… but they are not fake," Doom's eye said.

Shadow suddenly stopped and gasped. He put his hands on his head. He couldn't see the world in front of him. Instead, he saw a memory. He grunted and fell to his knees, closing his eyes tight, trying to block out the thoughts.

"P-Please… Black Doom…. Don't-"

Shadow was lost in a memory.

Shadow held Maria's hand whilst running down a long, winding corridor. He pulled her along as fast as he could. His chest was beating hard and fast, adrenaline coursing through his veins. The escape so close…

He checked behind him, noticing the terrified look on Maria's face… the footsteps of the soldiers getting louder and louder until they emerged from around the bend of the winding corridor. Shadow yanked Maria into through a set of doors and towards the escape pod, but those doors did not close in time. The Soldiers ran through it. Maria looked at Shadow, pleading. Her face told Shadow… 'Save me. Please. I don't want to die. I'm scared. Please, Shadow, help me-'

BANG

"MARIA!"

"Those memories may be fake, but the events are real." Black Doom said.

Shadow was brought back to reality. He slowly opened his eyes, and could see the burning buildings of Westopolis in front of him.

"Your creator's beloved Granddaughter was killed," Black Doom continued. "Gerald was destroyed by his loss. He wanted you to take revenge. Don't you want to? For Maria?"

"N-no!" Shadow snarled. He could feel his eyes leaking; he quickly wiped it away with his arm and stood up. "I-I'm… going to get you for this…" he said through gritted teeth as he shook with anger and sadness. "I'm the Ultimate Life Form… n-no one gets to treat me like this."

"Except _the humans_ are, Shadow. GUN is using you again. Join me," Black Doom said. "And we can take down the humans that are trying to destroy you."

Shadow looked to the floor and thought about it.

"So… here are my options. Work for your willingly… even though I don't want to. Or work for you unwillingly," Shadow said bitterly.

"And what is your choice?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes, then he turned around and swiped a Chaos Spear at Doom's eye. But the floating eye wasn't where Shadow expected it to be, it had floated out of harm's way.

"Shadow. You are a part of me. I can read your thoughts," Black Doom said from his third eye.

Shadow felt a sharp pain go through his skull. He grunted and pushed the palms of his hands against the sides of his head again. Then he lost all body control.

"Come now, my child. We have a planet to take over," Black Doom said. Shadow walked forward again.

Two soldiers were standing ahead, watching, waiting. They pointed their guns at Shadow.

"STOP! Don't move! Or We'll shoot!"

Black Doom chuckled darkly.

Shadow felt himself leap into the air and strike one of them with a homing attack. The other, he just lightly tapped, making them fall over. Shadow landed on his feet, then bent down. He felt his heart jump into his throat when he felt himself pick up the gun of the knocked out soldier.

'Black Doom. Please. Don't.'

Shadow felt his finger curl around the trigger, ready to fire.

'No.'

Shadow felt his arm move as he aimed at the soldier that was stumbling to his feet.

'I mean it. Stop.'

Shadow saw the terrified face of the soldier. The man's skin was smooth and youthful. It hurt Shadow to look. But he couldn't turn away.

'Black Doom! I know you can hear my thoughts! Stop!'

The soldier began to run, but Shadow pulled the trigger. The human soldier collapsed to the ground.

Shadow dropped the gun and stood staring at the man, slumped over, on the floor. Not moving. Shadow felt control return to his body… but he still couldn't move. All he could do was stand there and stare.

"Th-that's not me anymore… it's not-" His words were caught his his throat. Now, he wanted his eyes to leak. But they wouldn't. It would have been easier to just feel sad and cry… but his mind didn't know how to feel.

Then he heard her voice.

"Shadow! Please, promise me!"

Shadow covered his ears, but she called out again, from inside his head.

"Protect the people on that planet!"

Shadow screamed, trying to block it out.

Doom's eye just hovered in front of Shadow, watching him.

"You see what I am capable of. So you will just sit back and let me use your body as a weapon. I gave you the chance to keep your individuality, but you squandered it," Black Doom said. "Now go. You need to access the United Federation's mainframe. You're the only one of my offspring that will know how to do to it."

Shadow closed his eyes and winced in regret as he gave into Black Doom's mind control again.

OOOOOOOO

Shadow appeared in a new place. He was inside. The room was full of wires and computer components. He looked around. Then he saw a keyboard and a screen.

"This is how we get in," Black Doom commented, his voice still coming from Doom's eye, which hovered behind Shadow.

Shadow heard footsteps. They clacked quickly and got louder and louder. The person approaching was wearing a pair of heels. Shadow tensed up as he guessed who it could have been.

"What's this, Shadow? I sense some emotions…" Black Doom commented. Doom's eye floated backwards into a dark corner where is was hard to see it. Shadow looked at the door worriedly. Then, it opened.

Rouge walked through it. She stopped in surprise when she noticed Shadow. Then she looked slightly relieved.

"Oh, Shadow…" she sighed with a smile. "You've been sent here to protect the database too?"

Shadow didn't answer. Again, he had control over his body, but couldn't bring himself to do anything. He just looked at Rouge with wide, afraid eyes. Rouge's ears drooped and she looked at Shadow in concern. She held her hand out as she walked over to him.

"Oh, Shadow, what's wrong-?-"

"Please, Rouge. Just go," Shadow said shakily as he stepped back to avoid her. "Y-you need to tell GUN something. Tell them as soon as you escape." Shadow was forcing his words out, and struggling.

"What? Shadow?" Rouge asked and stepped back away from Shadow.

" _Seal me_."

Rouge's eyes widened in shock.

"R-run-" Shadow's arm lifted and he formed a Chaos Spear. Doom's eye floated out from the corner of the room and showed himself to Rouge. She noticed. Then, she leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding the spear that Shadow suddenly swiped at her. Shadow's afraid expression was gone… now it was just blank.

Rouge flapped her wings and flew out of the room. Shadow felt his heart sink. Relieved that Rouge was gone… but also wounded… because now he was alone again.

Would he get to see her ever again before his demise?

"Shadow. It's time to access the mainframe. It will tell us where the next emerald is," Black Doom said.

"It's in this room," Shadow said reluctantly. "I can sense it."

"Okay. Delete the mainframe, and take the emerald."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Sonic got to the edge of a lethal highway. He looked back at a small Alien ship that he'd just destroyed. He felt like his legs wanted to give way under him. He was so tired, but knew he had to keep going.

Then, heard the sound of an engine… He glanced at the crashed ship, worriedly. But it didn't move. Then he realised that the sound was coming from above. It sounded like…

"The Tornado!" Sonic said and looked up. It was the purple and yellow plane. It got closer, and began descending and coming towards Sonic. Finally, it landed, and Sonic ran over to it.

Sonic felt his stomach twist. He hadn't seen Tails since before prison. He saw Tails' head peeping out of the top in the cockpit. Then, the fo climbed out of it and landed on the floor. He began running towards Sonic, but stopped. He gave Sonic the same look back… one that showed that he was unsure about his emotions.

"Tails. I've been lookin' for ya. You weren't in your workshop…" Sonic pointed to his shoes and gloves. "I-I picked these up-" Tails suddenly ran at Sonic and hugged him tight.

"Sonic! Never leave me like that again!" Tails yelled, voice muffled since he'd buried himself in Sonic's bare stomach.

"I'll try, buddy," Sonic comforted. "If I can help it… I'm never goin' away again." He shivered… dreading the thought of returning to Prison Island.

Tails slowly pulled away and sniffled while he dried his eyes.

"So. Where' we goin', buddy?" Sonic asked with his usual grin. He stood straight and puffed out his chest, making himself look ready for anything.

"I was going to help with the Aliens… but there's something I need to check on first," Tails said. "Guess what Eggman's trying to build."

Sonic tiled his head and thought about it… feeling confused. Then, he lowered his eyelids and annoyance when he realised.

"A theme park?" he asked annoyedly.

Tails ducked his head back, surprised that Sonic had guessed.

"I'll explain on the way. Let's go," Sonic said and ran towards the Tornado.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Shadow returned to one of the places that he really did not want to. Central City. Where GUN HQ was situated. Where he'd lived all these months. Where Rouge's business was set up. Despite the underlying sense of dread… that he would be sealed away in stasis any day… Shadow had come to call Central City his home.

And Black Doom had taken him there… to destroy it.

"Please. Don't. I'll do anything," Shadow called out. He was surprised that he'd managed to snap out of Black Doom's control.

"Shadow… you seem to think that the life you've built with the beings on this planet can be salvaged," Black Doom said in amusement, from Doom's eye. Shadow grit his teeth and turned around to snap at the flying creature. But he felt his tail go between his legs when he saw the real Black Doom floating there with it. He looked up at the large alien… and felt smaller than usual.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Don't make me destroy my home," Shadow pleaded.

"Do you think that these humans can recover from my invasion?" Black Doom asked. Shadow nodded firmly. "You are more deluded than I thought!"

"No! You're deluded to think that you can just… control me like this!" Shadow yelled. Black Doom just laughed and held out his hand. Shadow fell to his knees again, grunting and fighting on the way down. Black Doom's hand began to shake.

"Grrrr… your resistance is getting stronger," Black Doom said, disgruntled.

"Because I don't want to hurt anyone! I don't want to be weapon!" Shadow cried out.

Black Doom tensed his hand. Shadow could fight no longer. He felt his body stiffen and his facial expression shifted of a blank one.

"You ARE a weapon!"

Shadow felt himself stand up against his will.

"Now. Detonate the bombs scattered around the city, and the meet me at the military's headquarters." Black Doom floated away, but his third eye remained, watching over Shadow, making sure he did everything commanded of him.

OOOOOOOOOOO

The Tornado flew away from Eggman's theme park. Sonic slouched in the back seat and held a chaos emerald in his hand.

"Okay, where to next?" Sonic asked, yelling forward so Tails could hear him from the cockpit.

"I'm getting an energy signal from above," Tails called back.

"Above?" Sonic asked and looked up. He saw nothing but the sky.

"The ARK," Tails deduced. "I saw some of the black Aliens head up there."

"I guess that means we're going too," Sonic said, he leaned forward and grinned.

"It's a good thing I was bored while you were gone. I modified the Tornado so it could go into space," Tails said. Then, a glass dome emerged and covered the both of them. "Okay, Sonic, let's go!"

The Tornado sped upwards, past the dark clouds in the sky, and beyond the atmosphere.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Sirens blazed at GUN HQ. Rouge glided through the corridor and swooped into the control room. The Commander was turning to leave, and so was everyone else.

"Commander. I just got here. What happened?" Rouge called out.

"We have to run, now," The Commander hurried and didn't stop. "To the bunker."

Rouge swung around and flapped her wings in the other direction, following the Commander.

"We need a stable force to survive the blast if this sector of the country is going to survive this invasion!" he called as Rouge glided beside him.

"Blast?"

"Bombs were found scattered around the city, alien tech, we don't know how to disable them."

Rouge gasped and stopped, but then pressed on. They managed to get down the first flight of stairs, going further and further… down below ground level.

Then, everything shook and the lights went out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Shadow's eyes leaked again as he looked at the rubble that used to be GUN HQ. He walked over the mountain of cement and bricks and looked down. He felt a shiver go down his spine. He could have sworn that he was standing on the very spot that he used to sit in every day. How could it be gone? All of it. He turned around and looked into the distance. Every building had the same fate. A few stood, but were damaged. He had a feeling Club Rouge was one of the buildings that didn't survive.

What about Rouge?

Black Doom floated up behind Shadow. Shadow sensed his presence this time so wasn't surprised. The hedgehog just looked at the floor, grieving.

"Next, we need to go below," Black Doom said. Many of the Black Arms aliens began swarming the area. Hundreds of them dug through the rubble. "To retrieve the next chaos emerald."

Shadow's blood turned to ice; he shook with anger.

"I could have done that myself!" he swung to face Black Doom and yelled. "You didn't need to destroy everything!"

"I needed to deplete the humans' defenses," Black Doom.

"Deplete?" Shadow spat. "Is that what humans are to you? DEPLETABLE!?"

"Why don't you ask yourself? You tried destroy the whole planet," Black Doom said accusingly.

Shadow tensed up.

"Gerald thought he could promise me the seven Chaos Emeralds and a planet to enslave, and then programme you to destroy it all before I got here? Hmph!" Black Doom exclaimed.

Shadow stood still and thought about it.

"I guess this was Gerald's back-up plan. If I were to fail-" Shadow stopped. "I did fail." He glared at Black Doom. "I didn't fail, though. I succeeded. I fulfilled Maria's true promise!"

"That memory is fake," Gerald said. "Maria did not ask you to promise her anything."

"Then why did Gerald give me this memory?" Shadow argued. "It has to be there for a reason!"

"Gerald did not plant that memory. It's fake. Even more fake than the others. You got confused when that pink hedgehog spoke to you and it wrote over what you already knew."

Shadow looked at Black Doom in distress.

"Memories of your kind are so unreliable. So easily manipulated and changed," Black Doom said. "Convince someone enough, and they will truly believe that it happened."

Shadow shook all over.

"What DID Maria want, then!?" He roared.

"Nothing. She was merely a pawn in your Grandfather's plans. Yes, he cared for her. But she had no voice in her fate."

"Wrong!"

"Your creator still loved her, and she still perished due to her own kind. The humans are a virus and deserve to be wiped out," Black Doom said. "And my own kind will enjoy feasting on them."

"No!" Shadow yelled, baring his teeth at Black Doom. "If I should avenge Maria because she was killed, then why shouldn't I avenge every human that YOU killed!"

Black Doom held out his hand.

Shadow's hateful stare remained.

Black Doom shook his hand, trying harder.

Shadow sneered at Black Doom and formed a Chaos Spear.

"You're immune to my mind control," Black Doom commented, taken aback.

"I am NOT your weapon! I can think for myself!" Shadow roared and thrusted his arm, sending a wave of Chaos Spears at Black Doom.

The Alien disappeared before the spears could hit him. Shadow frantically looked around to see where Black Doom would appear again. But Shadow couldn't see him anywhere. He noticed that the aliens were climbing into a hole in the rubble. He walked over, and stopped at the edge. Then he looked down and saw that the aliens had tunnelled to the ground below. It was a long drop.

"Foolish hedgehog," Shadow heard Black Doom's voice behind him, then felt something strike his back. He fell into the dark hole below.

And this time, he hit the floor, hard.


	12. Chapter 12

Shadow coughed and choked. Dust plumed around him. When it settled, he could see that he was in a room. With walls, and a floor. A large room with weapons and vehicles. A part of the HQ that wasn't destroyed. He looked up. He could see a dim circle of light above, where he'd fallen from. It hurt to breathe in, since he'd hit the floor chest first. He coughed again, this time he felt something wet leave his mouth. He looked down to see green dots on the floor. He wiped his mouth, and on his glove, he saw the same green liquid.

The blood was no issue. He would heal soon. It was the colour that bothered him.

He couldn't stand the thought of being a part of Black Doom.

Then, he heard the sound of a laser. He looked up, and ahead of him, charging through the large set of doors at the end of the room, was a large, red and grey robot. It was shooting a large blue laser from it's front near the cockpit. Shadow gained the strength to push himself to his feet when he noticed the cockpit.

A survivor.

The mech floated through the room and fired its blue laser at many of the black arms aliens that were attempting to get through. It stopped when whoever was controlling it saw Shadow. Shadow walked towards it with caution. The hedgehog tensed the fists at his sides and gained the courage to speak.

"Who are you?" Shadow asked.

A moment passed before a speaker crackled.

"This is rich, Shadow. First I hear report of you attacking our agents, then you dare to show your face here."

Shadow felt his stomach drop. It was the Commander's voice.

"It wasn't me," Shadow pleaded. "I was being controlled." He still felt guilty. His mind went back to the soldier he'd killed… the terrified look on his face before he ran for his life. Shadow wanted to shut it out.

"I shouldn't have trusted you," the Commander said regretfully. "I should have sealed you when I had the chance."

"Do it," Shadow said boldly. "Seal me. I won't fight back."

"What's going on, Shadow?"

"Black Doom," Shadow said. "He controlled me-UGH!"

He put his hands on his head again.

"No No no no no no!" Shadow cried out. He tried to resist Black Doom's mind control, but his guilt overwhelmed him. "R-run-"

Shadow's voice faded out, and a blank expression was on his face.

"Shadow?" the Commander asked.

Shadow didn't answer. Instead, he began glowing red.

"CHAOS…"

The mech reversed. Inside of the cockpit, the Commander was pulling back on the control sticks frantically.

Shadow leapt into the air.

"... BLAST!"

Shadow didn't land on the cockpit before his energy explosion, but the blast did reach the cockpit. The reinforced glass on the smashed open, leaving the Commander open to attack. Red blood began dripping from the side of his head and his cheek. The glass had cut him in several places.

Shadow lifted his arm and formed a chaos spear. But before he could throw it, something emerged from behind the mech, flew over the top of it, and grabbed the Commander. It was Rouge. Shadow noticed her, but couldn't stop himself from throwing the spear.

Rouge lifted herself and the Commander above and away from the mech just before the spear hit the inside of the cockpit, right on the back of the chair where the Commander's chest would have been.

Rouge flew the Commander out of the room.

Shadow was about to chase her, but Rouge flew back into the room.

'No. Don't come back. Run.' Shadow pleaded in his mind, hoping that Rouge would work it out. He'd already warned her before. She knew the situation from before. Why was she approaching him!?

"Shadow!" Black Doom floated down from the vertical tunnel above. "My soldiers have retrieved the emerald here. It's time to go to the Black Comet."

"I don't want to." Shadow managed to say through gritted teeth.

"We have most of the Chaos Emeralds, and the rest will be our soon."

"Why did you need me?" Shadow spat, narrowing his eyes. "If you could get so many of them yourself?"

Then he gasped and widened his eyes in pain.

"Silence," Black Doom growled.

Rouge just watched in concern and confusion.

"Let's go!" Black Doom said impatiently. Shadow's eyes squinted in discomfort as he felt himself begin to perform Chaos Control against his will. Rouge leapt and grabbed Shadow. The three of them disappeared.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Woo. That was a blast to the past," Sonic cheered as he and Tails set off on the Tornado, the ARK becoming smaller and smaller behind them as they blasted closer to the Earth below.

"Where to next?" Sonic asked, this time holding two chaos emeralds.

"The next signal's coming from below… and it's stronger than I thought," Tails said. Then he paused. "Um… Sonic… I-I think they're in there."

Sonic and Tails looked to the large object that they were about to pass. It was the Black Comet. They stared at it for a few moments with nerves and discomfort.

"I kinda wish we'd bought the others now," Sonic said.

"Who were we meant to take? Knuckles is guarding the Master Emerald."

"And Amy… I wouldn't want to take her to a place like that," Sonic said nervously. "Okay. We've gotta do it. We've gotta go inside that comet."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Shadow opened his eyes to look at his surroundings. It was dim and dingy, only lit with a weak red and purple glow emerging from the walls and floors. He felt control over his own body again. He shook his arms to test it. Then he looked around, Black Doom was nowhere to be seen.

But Rouge was laying on the floor in front of him, stirring and beginning to push herself up. Shadow walked over, bent down, and grabbed Rouge's hand to help her up. She suddenly pulled it away and looked at Shadow with wide afraid eyes.

"Don't worry. It's me," Shadow said in a comforting voice. "I don't know where Black Doom's gone."

Rouge hesitated, but slowly gave Shadow her hand. The hedgehog helped her to her feet and helped her balance. Then he looked at Rouge regretfully… he felt terrible… for everything. But just like when he was standing in Rouge's apartment, he wanted to run away and stop being a burden, but couldn't bring himself to express those feelings.

Rouge forced a determined smile at Shadow.

"Hey, let's go and find that Black Doom guy… and you can do what you do best," Rouge encouraged.

Shadow's expression softened at Rouge, and he nodded. They rushed down the long grey path.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sonic covered his mouth and nose with his hands.

"Man. It stinks in this place," he said, muffled behind the fabric of his glove.

Sonic and Tails were also in the Black Comet.

"Kinda," Tails said, looking around. "I think we landed in their nursery or something." On the walls, were thousands of small blobs, all with one eye each. One of the small creatures blobbed down the wall and over to Sonic and Tails. Sonic looked down at it in disgust. The blob creature got too close, so Sonic kicked it. It was thrown onto its back… which was where the eye was. It screeched in pain. The bottom of it was revealed… it had a ring of sharp teeth.

"Man. Wouldn't want to get bitten by that thing," Sonic said. Then he looked at the door as he heard it open. A Black Arms foot soldier walked into the room, most likely to check on the screaming baby alien. It pointed its gun at Sonic and Tails.

Sonic did a homing attack and knocked out the creature.

"Let's go!" Sonic said and waved his arm to beckon Tails to follow. The both of them rushed out of the door.

OOOOOOOOOO

Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, and Tails all ran into a large circular room from several directions.

"This is where he is. I can sense him," Shadow called out. He stopped when he saw Sonic. The group skidded to a halt in the middle of the room and all faced each other.

Sonic leapt back and stared at Shadow, on edge.

"Calm down, Sonic. I'm not under his control right now," Shadow remarked and folded his arms.

The group turned when they heard someone else entertaining. Sonic and Shadow got into fighting positions. Rouge and Tails hovered and fell back. Sonic and Shadow lowered their fists when they saw who it was. A small round flying machine hovered over to them. Then, a head lifted from within it. It was Eggman. He pulled himself up and leaned over the edge.

"Which one of your broke into my Amusement Park!" he exclaimed.

Sonic and Tails raised their arms. Sonic grinned whilst he did it.

"Sorry Egghead. We needed the emerald. Looks good so far though," Sonic teased.

"So far!?" Eggman exclaimed, then grit his teeth in anger. "If this is what I get for helping you out of prison, you little blue rat-"

"HEY!" Sonic interrupted. "You needed my help!"

"Eggman helped you out?" Shadow asked Sonic.

"YES! I DID!" Eggman exclaimed proudly.

"I'm glad you're free," Shadow said to Sonic.

"Hey, thanks, Shadow!" Sonic grinned.

"Don't change the subject!" Eggman screeched.

"Ugh, whatever, Egghead. You woulda' had t' bring the emerald here anyway. We did ya' a favour," Sonic said irritably.

"How many do you have?" Shadow asked. "Black Doom has five. Does that mean you have the last two?"

Sonic nodded and pulled both emeralds out and held them in front of Shadow. Then his eyes widened and his grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on them.

"Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Th-they trying to float away!" Sonic exclaimed. He grit his teeth and pulled back, but it didn't do anything. Suddenly, he let go and the emeralds floated towards one of the doors. Black Doom floated through it. Five emeralds were circling around him. The remaining 2 joined the circle.

Black Doom approached the group and stopped in front of them.

"It's time for the prosperity ritual to begin," Black Doom announced.

Shadow looked up at Black Doom with wide, pleading eyes, because he knew that meant. It was feasting time.


	13. Chapter 13

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The group looked around, and saw that their surroundings hadn't changed.

"What happened?" Shadow asked.

"I warped the Black Comet down to the planet," Black Doom said. Shadow grit his teeth.

"That why you needed the chaos emeralds?" he asked, irritated.

"The comet's velocity isn't powerful enough to pass through another planet's atmosphere," Black Doom explained. "The emeralds amplify the space-time control powers of Chaos Control. We needed them to charge to full power. It's the perfect plan. That's why I needed the professor the help me."

Shadow fell to his knees.

"That's my true purpose. To gather the Chaos Emeralds," he mumbled. "Whether it's for the eclipse cannon… or this. That's all I am."

"Shadow. We can't just stand here doing nothing. You've gotta fight back," Sonic called out.

Shadow tried to turn his head to look at Sonic, but found that he couldn't. He couldn't move at all.

"S-stop controlling me!" Shadow cried out.

Black Doom chucked darkly.

"That's not me."

"Wh-what's going on?" Sonic struggled. The rest of the group were standing still. No-one could move.

"A special weapon. This gas, once released is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream. In a moment, total paralysis will hit your nervous system. The end is near now." Black Doom laughed in triumph.

The blob creatures that Sonic and Tails has seen before, crowded into the room and passed under Black Doom. They approached the group, fast.

"Ah, my dear offspring. You can finally feast!" Black Doom encouraged.

Sonic muzzle went pale and he stared at the creatures with wide eyes. He remembered the one he'd kicked before, and the sharp razor like teeth.

"N-no way man! K-keep those things away!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Shadow! You can resist the gas! You're part alien!" Eggman exclaimed.

"I want them to eat me. Maybe then I can finally rest in peace!" Shadow cried out. He scrunched his eyes tight, and wished that he could move so he could cover his ears. He wanted to shut out the world for the last few moments he experienced it. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Shadow! You're not as worthless as you think! My grandfather's plan may have changed before you were born, but he began Project Shadow for better reasons. You were created to save Maria's life, and if that were to work… you would have cured so many people after it. You're not a weapon, Shadow, you're a cure!"

"And what good has that done! I'm a monster!" Shadow exclaimed. "I'm a part of him."

Black Doom just floated and listened whilst he waited for his offspring to reach the paralysed heroes.

"You ungrateful hedgehog! I gave you life and you want to throw it away because of the traits that I gave to you!" Black Doom spat. "I will enjoy watching your own brothers devour you!"

Shadow looked at the creatures inching towards him; it made his stomach twist… to think that he was related to those things. He wanted to retch again. Knowing that that thick green liquid was inside of him made his skin crawl.

The first one reached Shadow and hesitated by his foot. It seemed to be confused by the metallic frame on Shadow's shoe.

Shadow realised something. The blood that he shared with the black creatures… made him who he was. The cure.

" _Promise me, Shadow, that you will protect the people on that planet… this cure may not reach me in time, but… it may help someone else,"_ Shadow could hear Maria's voice in his head. He could hear her laugh. " _What am I doing… talking to a test tube. You can't hear me."_

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" Shadow suddenly cried out. He stood up. He waved his arm and sent a dozen chaos spears at the approaching blobs. Many of them were splattered to oblivion. The rest began inching backwards, letting out small high pitched squeals in fear. Shadow stomped on the one that was closest to him.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Black Doom roared.

"Thanks, Shad!" Sonic called out in relief.

"This does not change anything!" Black Doom called out as he started floating backwards. "The gas is seeping from this comet and will soon reach all living things on the planet!"

"Not unless-" Shadow called out. He ran, leapt up and threw a Chaos Spear at Black Doom. But, the alien disappeared.

Shadow was left alone with the group. He turned around to face them.

"Shadow… we'll be fine, just go and get 'im," Sonic said.

"No. I don't want to risk leaving you here. Those creatures could come back," Shadow said. Then, he realised something and looked behind him. "He left the emeralds behind." All seven of them were left floating in the air.

"Sonic, if you go super with me-"

"I'm kinda stuck, Shadow. And… I think this is your fight," Sonic said. Shadow nodded. He realised what he needed to do.

Shadow pulled the Chaos Emeralds down by reaching up his hand; they all floated down and hovered around him.

"I've never done this alone before," he said.

"It's easy," Sonic gave a smile of encouragement.

"I know you can do it, Shadow," Rouge said softly.

"Of course he can! He's my grandfather's creation!" Eggman added.

"Go on, Shadow!" Tails called out.

Shadow nodded in determination. Then, he concentrated, and the emeralds began spinning in a circle around him, faster and faster, until there was a flash and Shadow was glowing a golden yellow in all of the places he used to be jet black.

Then, he stepped closer to his friends, held out his held so his palms were facing them.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow said. Then, they were all gone. Shadow hoped that they'd gone where he planned to send them, to the planet below, safe and sound.

Then, he closed his eyes and disappeared somewhere new himself. He was on top of the Black Comet. Shadow looked to the surface he was standing on. Dark, bumpy, intimidating. He began floating upwards. Until he got far away enough to judge the size of it. It was bigger than the Space Colony ARK, and Shadow remembered how hard it was to move that with Sonic's help. Shadow shook his head and huffed in frustration, then he took in a deep breath and shot down towards the bottom of the comet like a shooting star of golden light.

Shadow reached his hand above his head and grabbed the bottom surface of the Black Comet.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"


	14. Chapter 14

Sonic and the others were coughing and stumbling before they could regain their composure. Sonic shook his arms and bent his legs.

"I can move again!"

"Me too!" Tails said. The others were doing the same, testing that they could move their limbs.

They standing where Central City used to be. The dark clouds were clearing from the sky.

"I can see a light in the sky!" Tails cried out and pointed. Sonic, Rouge, and Eggman looked up. There was a small golden spark of light moving about in the sky, like a hyperactive shooting star.

"Aww man… now I know how everyone felt when I was up there with Shadow…" Sonic said, tensing up and watching impatiently.

"Don't you have faith in Shadow?" Rouge asked. Sonic smiled nervously.

"Well… I'm kinda worried for 'im," he said. "I think he's tried to move that comet himself… and it's huge."

"He can do it!" Rouge argued. "He's Shadow!"

"The Shadow that 'died' last time he was in his super form," Sonic pointed out. Rouge looked worried.

"I hope he's okay."

There was an explosion in the sky.

OOOOOOOOO

Shadow collapsed onto the floor, jet black again. The chaos emeralds were in the eclipse cannon. Shadow heard the sound of a large blast, the cannon had fired.

"I… I hope Black Doom was… still in that comet…" Shadow said as he sunk from his hands and knees. He flipped over onto this back and looked up at the ceiling… it began fading.

OOOOOOOOO

Sonic and Co ran into the Eclipse cannon control room.

"He must be in here!" Rouge called out frantically. Then she saw him. Shadow, on the floor. Eyes closed. Not moving. Rouge's heart wrenched when she noticed that not even Shadow's chest was moving up and down. He wasn't breathing. Rouge ran over to him, dropped to her knees and began shaking him. He didn't wake up. "Shadow! Please!"

Eggman walked up behind her.

"This is what he did last time, when I found him. It took him a short while to wake up," Eggman said.

"And then what?" Rouge asked.

"I put him into stasis before he was aware of anything," Eggman said. Rouge grit her teeth, swung around and hit Eggman. The scientist stumbled backwards.

"Is that all you Robotnik's do to him!? Freeze him until her can serve you better!?" Rouge yelled.

"Woah, calm down," Sonic ran over and stepped between them.

Rouge turned and looked at the control panel.

"The Chaos Emeralds. Maybe they'll do something," she said. Then she flew up towards them. She tried to grab one, but as soon as she touched it, all of them disappeared.

Rouge gasped.

"They've powered a superform. They need time to recharge," Sonic said. "We can find them again if we need to."

"Ugh…"

The group turned and looked at Shadow. He was stirring. He scrunched his eyes tight as he winced and took in a sharp breath of air.

"Shadow!" Rouge cried out and ran to him.

Shadow didn't respond, he just continued groaning and gasping in pain.

"My head… it…" He pushed his palms into the side of his skull; it helped to alleviate some of splitting pain that was pulsing through his brain. He sat up and the lids of his eyes slowly opened. He looked at Rouge, but instead of acknowledging her presence, he seemed to look straight through her.

"Shadow!" Rouge said and grabbed the hedgehog's shoulder.

"A shadow? Where?" Shadow rasped and looked around the room with tired eyes. "W-where am I?"

"The ARK."

Shadow shook his head slightly, as if that meant nothing to him.

"Shadow…" Rouge said, worriedly. Shadow looked around the room again.

"Where…? Why are you…?"

"No. Shadow is your name!" Rouge cried out. Tears made her eyes sting.

"Shadow? That's not my name… my name is-" He stopped, then looked down whilst searching his mind for an answer.

"Your name is Shadow," Rouge said and squeezed Shadow's shoulder supportively. "And you… are a cure."

Shadow looked at Rouge with soft, inspired eyes.

 **END**


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